


Broken Dreams and Silent Screams

by SkyIshtar



Series: Broken Dreams [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU - Season 2, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-02 15:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 60
Words: 69,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4065445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyIshtar/pseuds/SkyIshtar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In his dreams Grant Ward is happy. There is no HYDRA, just him and a girl named Skye. But reality is different, all anyone ever asks him about is HYDRA and the girl named Skye is nowhere to be seen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Girl Named Skye

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set after the season one finale.  
> Originally written during the season 1 - season 2 hiatus.  
> The title comes from the song ‘Bones’ my MS MR. The story really has nothing to do with the song but I really like the words and they seem to fit the story.

In his dreams Grant Ward is happy. There is no HYDRA, just him and a girl named Skye. But reality is different, all anyone ever asks him about is HYDRA and the girl named Skye is nowhere to be seen.

The first time he wakes from these dreams Grant Ward is handcuffed to a bed, a nurse is adjusting an IV drip that is attached to his arm. Ward tries to ask her where he is, only no sound comes out. The nurse leaves without even looking at him and Grant Ward is alone.

* * *

The next time Grant Ward wakes up the nurse is back. She rests one hand on his bed rail as she adjusts a monitor. Ward acts immediately, he doesn’t grab her hand, only grazes her hand with his fingers, being handcuffed to the railing has limited his movements, that’s about all he can manage. The nurse jumps at the contact. Ward tries to speak but once again no sound comes out. The nurse actually looks at him with pity, she then looks in the corner and for the first time Ward sees the camera. The nurse goes back to her work, however she slowly turns so that her back is to the camera and she is facing Ward. Again Ward sees pity in her eyes, “I’m sorry,” She said, “Whatever stuck you in the throat may have done some serious damage.” Her eyes flick behind her for a second, paranoid that someone will interrupt her, “It may be permanent.”

With those words she leaves. Again Grant Ward is alone, only this time it is with the knowledge that he may never speak again. Ward briefly wonders about his foot but it doesn’t really matter, in terms of flesh wounds, Grand Ward has had worse, he’ll stand again, he’ll walk again. He always does.

* * *

The third time Grant Ward wakes, he desperately wants the dreams to be real. He wants to live in a world without the memories of his childhood, a world where the one thing he ever wanted wants him back. This time there is no nurse checking on him. Ward briefly wonders where he is, probably in the deepest, darkest corner of the Fridge. Then he remembers that the Fridge is gone, he helped bring it down. He wonders where they would put someone like him now that the Fridge is gone. He’s too dangerous for general population and he shouldn’t rate a military prison, military prisons don’t allow torture and Coulson had promised him hell. What Coulson doesn’t know is that Ward has already been to hell and John Garrett was the one that pulled him out.

For the first time Ward takes in his surroundings, the room he is in is all white, besides the bed and the heart monitor beeping next to him the room is empty. At it is clean and all that Ward can think is that he has been in worse situations, both as Grant Ward and as an undercover operative, he remembers a particularly bad cell in Russia and almost smiles at the memory. That was a simpler time, when he could be both HYDRA and SHIELD at the same time, when Garrett’s interest didn’t contradict SHIELD’s orders. But SHIELD was gone now, so was Garrett, there were no more orders to follow. Grant Ward had followed orders his entire life, first his father, then his brother and eventually Garrett, for the first time in his life Ward wasn’t dancing to someone else’s tune and that thought alone terrified him. He didn’t know what to do without being ordered to do it. Ward wondered if the next time he woke, if he would be alone. Ward found that he liked the solitude, it gave him time to think. Grant Ward hadn’t been alone with his own thoughts in a very long time.

* * *

The final time Grant Ward woke from the dreams he knew that he had to stop. There is no point dwelling on things you cannot change. He was a monster, one made by a man named Garrett but a monster none the less. After he learned the truth about Skye he had dreamt of being a monster with her, two monsters side by side, but the truth was he didn’t want her to be a monster, that wasn’t the girl he fell in love with, he wasn’t sure he could love a monster, And if he couldn’t love a monster, why should she.

* * *

The next time Grant Ward woke up he hadn’t dreamt of a life with Skye, he doubted he ever would again. He didn’t deserve a life with her, he didn’t deserve a life at all.

It took Ward awhile to realize he was no longer handcuffed to the bed, he wasn’t even in the same room. Sitting up he looked around his new accommodations. They were very similar to his old ones, only there was no heart monitor, the bed was smaller, uncomfortable even and there was a stack of paper and pencil sitting next to the bed. On top of the paper was a note:

_Tell us everything about HYDRA’s operations_

_and we can talk about your freedom._

Ward recognized the hand writing, he just wasn’t sure from where. Ward may have been many things; a traitor, a solider, and a weak minded patsy but he wasn’t a complete idiot, he knew he would never be free. No matter how much information he gave on HYDRA he would never be a free man, but he could bargain for other things. Grant Ward owed no loyalty to HYDRA, he had only ever been loyal to Garrett and now Garrett was gone. Ward started writing, all in the hope of seeing a girl named Skye.


	2. The Silent Man

Grant Ward didn’t even know what day it was. He didn’t even know how long he had even been in the white room. Food was pushed through a hole in the door every so often, always the same, there was no way to tell what breakfast was and what dinner was. He thought about counting the days by dividing them by the times he slept, but he slept when he was tired and he never knew for how long, it could have been minutes or it could have been days. Every so often he would put some paper on the tray when he pushed it back out the flap in his door, paper’s containing every secret he knew about HYDRA and every so often he would add a list of his own questions, there were only three, always the same three:

_How are Fitz and Simmons?_

_Have you caught Raina?_

_Can I see Skye?_

And always his questions were ignored.

Grant Ward was a patient man, he had spent years waiting inside SHIELD for the rise of HYDRA and he would have waited years longer. Eventually Ward made the first decision of his own, he stopped sending out answers and only sent out questions. And with every meal the list got longer, from simple questions like, what day it was and how’s the weather out there, to a list of demands like a different meal and the chance to see Skye.

* * *

Ward knew he had won a small victory when he actually received a different meal, in response he sent back a single piece of information. The next meal came with a note:

_Today is Wednesday_

_It’s raining outside_

_Simmons is fine_

Ward noticed right away that the note did not mention Fitz. But a deal was a deal, even one made by a silent man, three questions answered, three of HYDRA’s secrets spilled. It crossed Ward’s mind that he could be being lied to, but what was the point, it didn’t matter if he had been here 7 days or 70, he didn’t care if it was raining or snowing outside and what was the point of telling him Simmons was fine if she wasn’t.

* * *

The next meal came with no answers, but Grand Ward didn’t care. Today he only had one question, a single question he had wanted answered since the nurse had left him alone. A single question he had been too afraid to ask:

_Will I ever talk again?_

Ward had tried to speak but no sound ever came out. He still had an ugly bruise around his throat and Ward had hoped that as the bruises healed so would his voice but with each passing day that hope diminished. He couldn’t whisper, he couldn’t even scream.

* * *

 

 

The next meal come with an entire folder. The medical file of one Grant Ward. As he read it Ward actually understands very little, but certain words stood even to someone as medically inept as him:

_Fracture_

_Torn_

_Vocal Cords_

_Internal Damage_

But one word stood out most of all:

_Permanent_

Ward didn’t touch that meal, or the next, he didn’t even trade information for his file. He sat in the corner of the room thinking about Melinda May’s final revenge.

Grant Ward would never talk again.

* * *

In a dark room, a one eyed man watched Grant Ward on a monitor. When Ward returned a third meal, untouched, the man smiled, “Now he’s ready.”

A red haired women stood behind him, “Sir, was it really necessary to brake him?”

The one eyed man turned to face the women, “He was already broken, the difference is now he knows it.”

* * *

With Grant Ward’s next meal came a package. Inside its brown paper wrapping were three books. Ward almost cringed when he saw they were picture books. However he actually smiled when he saw the titles. He picked up the note that accompanied the meal, reading it three times just to be sure:

_When we can have a conversation_

_without the pencil and paper_

_we’ll talk about your freedom_

Grant Ward loved a challenge.


	3. Broken Spirits

If anyone is the Playground wanted to find Skye the answer was always the same; the cargo hold of the bus, taking her anger out on a punching bag. Only this made things worse, because Skye would remember who had taught her the proper way to punch. Sometime she would be so angry that she would forget to wrap her hand, it wasn’t uncommon for the hacker to join the team for meal with bloody hands, earning her worried looks from Coulson and May.

Simmons probably would have been more worried about Sky’s behaviour if she wasn’t constantly worried about another member of the team. The biochemist rarely joined the team for meals, she was constantly at the side of the unconscious technician that had saved her life. At one point she was skipping meals all together and if Trip hadn’t threatened to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to the kitchen where he would force food into her mouth, Simmons probably would have starved herself to death.

Trip had become Simmons unofficial babysitter. He made sure that she slept and ate. One day he even had to push her into the shower, fully clothed, because she had refused to leave Fitz’s side long enough to take one on her own.

As far as the team could see Coulson was handling their current situation the best. Only May knew any different. Only May knew that Coulson didn’t sleep, that he spent his nights drawing on the walls in the basement of the Playground. During the day, however, Coulson was the picture of sanity.

Fitz remained in a coma, he was yet to wake up since Simmons and Fury pulled him from the ocean. Despite being unconscious, the engineer was the cause of many of the team’s problems; Skye’s anger, Simmons’ self-destruction and even Coulson insomnia. The team wanted nothing more than to save the young man, Coulson had even put the resurrection of SHIELD on hold until Fitz could be a part of it. Despite Simmons protests Coulson refused to even consider looking for another source of GH-325, Coulson couldn’t bring himself to tell Simmons why he wasn’t exploring every available option to save Fitz’s life. Fury’s doctors had all agreed on Fitz’s condition, IF the engineer woke up, he would never be the same. There was swelling of the brain, not to the brain damage due to oxygen deprivation, unfortunately the full extent of the damage couldn’t be measured until he woke up. If he woke up.

Everyone on the team avoided Koenig. It was creepy being around a man they had seen with his throat cut in half. What was even creepier was how much like his brother Koenig actually was. Once or twice someone called him Eric by mistake and the operative went and sulk in office for almost a full day. May wondered if it was a coincidence that the two secret bases were both run by Koenigs or were there more out there. In one of her rare anger free moments Skye suggested that they weren’t brothers but clones and that all of Fury’s bases had a Koenig clone. Recently May began to wonder if the hacker had been right.

After being cramped on the bus for almost a year the team wasn’t used to having so much space to themselves. The last time they had been at a SHIELD base this big it was The Hub and it had been full of agents, many of whom were now dead or in prison. It was thoughts like this that had broken the team. They remembered that the only family some of them had ever had was gone.

Today was one of the days Coulson spent alone in his office. He watched the team through the Playground's internal security system. Grant Ward’s betrayal had broken this team, it was Phil Coulson’s job to put it back together.

 


	4. The Last Note

Time passed quickly for Grant Ward. For all he knew months could have passed outside his white walls. The man was either practising, training, eating or sleeping. Ever so slowly Ward was learning to talk with his hands, it was difficult to learn from books alone, every so often a new set of books was delivered with his meal or received notes requesting the return of the old ones. Ward worked hard to master each book before its return was requested. For a man who had spent a good portion of his life killing with hands, he took great joy in creating words with them. Every so often a novel was slipped in with the sign language books Ward was being sent, Ward ignored them, the reminded him of the books Garrett had ‘suggested’ he read. Soon the novels disappeared and Ward noticed that other countries’ sign languages were being added to his collection. There was Australian, Irish and even Russian. Whoever was outside sending Ward the books wanted him to converse with more than just them. It was moments like this that made Ward doubt the promise of freedom was genuine, if it was they would have helped Ward ASL and sent him out into the world. The fact he was learning languages other than English suggested that whoever was behind this wanted more than just information on HYDRA. Ward wasn’t sure he wanted to be someone else’s puppet again, Coulson had suggested he try to find out who he was without Garrett which meant finding out who he could be without having someone telling him what to do. Ward needed to find out who he could be on his own.

Ward also began to work out his body. If someone else wanted to manipulate him he wanted to be ready. He did whatever exercise he could in his cell, push ups, sit up even the endurance bridges he had detested as a rookie. Whatever was coming Grant Ward was going to face it head on. This time he wasn’t going to be a patsy for a drug crazed psychopath.

Instead of counting days Ward counted meals. He worked on the theory that he was receiving three meals a day. On his 270th meal Ward knew he had been in the white room long enough, he figured he had been without human contact for three months. Even his time in the woods hadn’t been this bad, at least there he could move more three metres, he had had Buddy and if he truly wanted he could have. Not that Ward didn’t like the solitude, he had had time to think for himself, he had taken the time to learn and finally he was ready. Ward wasn’t entirely sure how some people lasted years in prison, he figured it was because they had at least some human interaction. Ward was tired of being alone, it was time to what lay outside the white room.

Looking at the camera in the corner of the room Grand Ward smiled, waved and then sent a single message:

_I think it’s time we talked, don’t you?_

* * *

 

 The next meal came with more than just food, for a second Ward wondered why they would trust him with sharp implements, but the truth was the only person he could hurt is himself and if he did; how sad, too bad. Ward actually smiled at what he hoped would be the last note he would receive in this cell;

_Cut your hair and loose the beard._

_Then we can talk_

* * *

 

It took Ward six more meals to do what the note asked him to, one last act of defiance. Using the small mirror provided Ward rid himself of the beard that he had grown during his stay in the white room. The hair was a more difficult job, Ward liked to think he was a flexible man but even je had trouble cutting the hair at the back of his head without cutting himself.

The second he put the scissors down the flap on his door opened and a fresh set of clothes was pushed in. Ward smiled, the clothes he was currently wearing were the only set he had and for the past 276 meals they had only ever been washed by hand, in the small sink in the corner of his cell. Ward quickly pulled the fresh clothes on, he doubted he had ever been happier to change his clothes in his life. They’d even given him shoes, Ward had almost forgotten what it felt like not to have bare feet, surprisingly the shoes hurt the foot May had put a couple of nails through but it was a dull ache and if it meant freedom Grant Ward would tolerate it. As he tired the lace on his second shoe the door to his cell slid open. Standing, Ward actually smiled to himself, he was either going to walk out of this building a free man or he was going out in a body bag and Ward didn’t care which. However just to be on the safe side he palmed the pair of scissors he had received to deal with his hair.

Ward entered the hallway outside his room, there was only one way to go, the open door right at the very end of the hallway. He walked along slowly, weary of any ambushes or guards that might try to jump him. At the open door Ward stopped, nothing had prepared him for the sight before him. A single man sat at a table in the middle of the room, a man Ward, and the rest of the world, thought dead. To be fair it was exactly the same Nick Fury sitting at the table that Ward remembered, there was no eye patch, no black clothes, hell the man looked like he had slept on a park bench.

“If we are going to have this conversation, you’ll need to put the scissors down.”

Ward was actually shocked at the sight of the deal man that he let the only weapon he had clatter to the floor.

Fury nodded, “That’s better, “He gestured to another seat across from himself, “Why don’t you have a seat, son.”

_Don’t call me son, my last boss did that and I’m starting to hate the man_ , Warn signed angrily.

Fury held up is hands, “Well the man did go a little crazy in the end.”

_He was crazy from the start_ , Ward signed, sitting down, _I just didn’t see it_.

“And that’s way I’m giving you a chance to undo some of Garrett’s mistakes, and in turn some of yours.”

Ward actually smiled, _You’re an idiot if you think you can trust me, if you think I’ll be loyal to you. I’m not a puppet, not anymore._

“And that’s what I’m counting on,” Fury lent forward onto the table, “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, I’m here to give you a choice.”

Ward was suspicious by nature, but curiosity got the better of him, _Choice?_

“I can let you go. You can go back to HYDRA, beg Coulson’s forgiveness, hell you can heard cattle in the Australian outback for all I care.”

Ward wasn’t convinced, _Or?_

Fury actually smiled, “Or you can earn the redemption that you desperately want, you can earn Coulson’s forgiveness and you can earn your freedom.”

Ward gave a doubtful smile, _How?_

“By working for me, by doing the one thing you actually want to do.”

Ward raised an eyebrow, _And what’s that?_

Fury gave Ward a knowing look, “Protecting that girl of yours.”

Ward sat forward, _I’m listening._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m just going to point out that I am Australian so my knowledge of ASL is limited at best so I apologize if some of what is signed in this story isn’t possible. If you don’t like it then you don’t have to read it.


	5. From Russia with Love

To say that Natasha Romanoff wasn’t happy to be back in her home country was an understatement, not only was it the location, it was the company. Natasha was used to running missions with Clint Barton, known to some as Hawkeye. The man didn’t have an off switch, if he wasn’t talking he was eating and if he wasn’t doing either of them he was passed out somewhere, preferably up in a place no sane person would ever consider comfortable. Unfortunately Clint hadn’t been the same since New York, not since Loki messed with his mind. So Natasha had a new partner, an ex-HYDRA agent who couldn’t even talk. Not that Natasha would ever admit is out loud but she actually missed Barton’s constant chatter.

So here she was, stuck in the middle of a Russian winter with a man that sat in a silence that any other person would find creepy and for that Natasha Romanoff blamed Nick Fury. For a man supposed to be dead, Nick Fury gave a lot of orders and the orders that annoyed the Black Widow the most were the ones concerning Grant Ward. In fact, Natasha’s orders were very specific when it came to Ward, the second she thought he might go running back to HYDRA she was to put a bullet in his head. What surprised Natasha was that so far she hadn’t doubted him for a second.

They had crossed into Russia three days ago, pretending to be brother and sister. Their mission was simple retrieval and it was amazing how much information a single guard to a secret, underground base was willing to spill to a pretty girl and a guy he didn’t think could hear him. Ward’s command of Russian Sign Language was limited but his comprehension of the spoken language was flawless, so while Natasha flirted the information out of the guard, Ward remembered what was said and came up with a plan to enter the facility and then get out, all while hopefully remaining undetected. And even Romanoff had to admit it was a good plan.

So now they were huddled against a makeshift barricade, waiting for change in the guards and Natasha was bored. Ward mainly ignored her, choosing to spend his time scribbling in the note book he constantly carried. Natasha would have burned the blasted thing days ago, if it wasn’t Ward’s only way of communicating with her. Just because Fury had taught the man sign language it didn’t mean he’d taught Natasha, she had never had the need to know it and she wasn’t about to learn it to make talking to an ex-HYDRA agent easier. If he wanted to talk to her he could write it down, the problem was he didn’t want to talk and Natasha was getting annoyed.

Natasha sighed, if she was going to invade hell with this man she wanted answers, the assassin had learned long ago that not knowing something on a mission was a sure fire way to get you killed and Natasha wasn’t planning to die, not today. She didn’t ask if Ward would answer her question, that could have led to a no, so she just asked, insulting or not, “What are the chances you’ll betray me the second we get inside?” Ward looked up in surprise, almost as if he had forgotten Natasha was there, he shrugged, scribbling an answer, **_Why would I?_**

Natasha held back the urge to laugh, “This is a joint Red Room and HYDRA base and you’re HYDRA.”

Ward smiled, **_And you’re Red Room._**

Natasha looked angry, “Not anymore.”

**_Does that answer your question?_ **

Natasha gave a half smile, “I see your point, and can I ask you another question?”

Ward raised an eyebrow, but nodded, wondering if he would regret the decision.

“Why did you defect?” Natasha asked, straight face as always.

Ward looked thoughtful for a second, the scribbled in his note book again, **_Have you ever been in love?_**

Natasha was shocked, that wasn’t the answer she was expecting, “Love is for children.”

Ward smiled again, **_That didn’t answer the question._**

Natasha thought about it, but if she wanted the truth she would need to be truthful in return, “Along time ago, back when I was Red Room. I learned from my mistakes.”

**_What happened?_ **

“He shot me. Twice.” Natasha sighed, “Now answer the question, Agent Ward, why did you defect?”

Ward sighed and scribbled a long reply, **_Your ex shot you, twice, and deep down you still love him. Don’t deny it. The girl I love set the Calvary on me, now I can’t talk. Yet all I can think about is seeing her, saying sorry and maybe winning her back. Working with Fury gives me that chance. Working with HYDRA doesn’t._**

Natasha raised an eyebrow, “And if she doesn’t forgive you? If you can’t win her back?”

**_Love means making someone else happy, even at the cost of your own happiness. She may never forgive me, I can live with that but finding this cure for Fitz will make her happy and that’s a start._ **

Natasha smiled, “For a man who can’t talk you sure have a lot to say.”

Ward smiled and shrugged.

Natasha only nodded, looking over the barricade she saw the guards begin to change shifts, “Let’s go save your engineer.”


	6. The Dead Man

Grant Ward had always been a specialist, he could dismantle a bomb or build one. No matter what the job you could always tell he’d been there, be it by a trail of bodies, a hole in a wall or a cracked safe. His jobs always involved sneaking into places and then blasting his way out. So sneaking into a secret Russian underground facility was easy for the former HYDRA agent, even stealing a top secret miracle drug from right under the guard’s nose was easy, at least by Ward’s standards. It was getting out of the base undetected that Grant Ward was finding difficult.

The plan had been simple and solid. It had worked perfectly, right until Ward turned a corner and ran straight into the guard Natasha had gotten the information out of the night before. Ward couldn’t tell who was more shocked, the Black Widow or the guard. Even Ward had to admit he was slightly shocked, the drugs Romanoff had slipped him should have knocked him out for almost a full day, yet here he was twelve hours later, ready to work.

“Natalia?” the guard almost whispered.

Ward reacted first, slamming the butt of his gun into the side of the guard’s head. Both Ward and Romanoff were well trained, they didn’t even have to look at each other to know that it was time to run. If by luck or act of god, they didn’t run into anymore guards as they made for the exit. Considering there was meant to be no evidence that they were ever there and there was no a very large piece of it passed out in the hall way both Ward and Romanoff knew that Fury wasn’t going to be happy. However as the pair made it outside to the vehicle they had hidden away hours before, Ward didn’t care how Fury would react. They had the miracle drug, which meant they had a cure for Fitz. As they drove of Grant Ward was happy, he was on the road to redemption.

* * *

Later that night they waited for Fury’s extraction, they were in some dingy hotel that no one in their right mind would call a holiday destination. Natasha had all but run to the bed on arriving, leaving Ward with the uncomfortable chair in the corner. Knowing he never be able to get any sleep before the extraction arrived Ward busied himself with another task. The guard that had surprised them shouldn’t have been walking around, he shouldn’t have even been awake, something wasn’t right. Either Fury was keeping him in the dark or Fury himself didn’t know, either way Ward wanted answers, he wasn’t going to be left out in the cold because a superior wouldn’t give him the whole truth, not again. SHIELD had hacked into the Red Room’s data base long ago, the files they had retrieved were a few years old now but were still useful. Ward pulled up the personal files, searching for the name he remembered from the previous evening, Alexi Ivanov. Ward was shocked at what he found, he read the file three times just to be sure. He even pulled up the fire photo to confirm it was the same guard.

Balling up a piece of paper, he through it at the sleeping assassin, watching in quiet amusement as she sprang wake, searching for any signs of danger. Finding none, Natasha glared at Ward, “What?”

In response Ward passed her the laptop, still open to Ivanov’s page, gesturing for her to read.

Natasha’s anger turned to confusion as she read, like Ward she read it three times just to be sure. Then she looked at Ward, her confusion evident on her face, “That’s not possible.”

Ward raised an eyebrow, grabbing his notebook he scribbled his response, **_That file’s 3 years old._**

This confused Natasha even more, “So three years ago, this guy was brain dead and now not only is he up and walking, but drugs don’t affect him or at least not for very long.”

Ward nodded, **_Do you think it’s the drug?_**

Natasha gave a small nod, “It has to be,” she sighed, “at least we know that it works. That’s good news for your engineer.”

**_But what are the side effects?_ **

Natasha shrugged, “Fury knows what he’s doing. He brought Coulson back, didn’t he?”

Ward gave her a sceptic look, **_With the same drug that made Garrett go nuts._**

Natasha smiled, “I thought you said Garrett was already nuts, that you just didn’t see it.”

Ward raised an eyebrow, **_You’ve been talking to Fury about me._** He paused for a second, **_You were ordered to shoot me if I ran, weren’t you?_**

Natasha nodded, “For what it’s worth, I’m glad I didn’t. You were almost as good as Clint today.”

Ward smiled, **Almost?**

“He would have shot the guard.” Natasha said with a shrug.

**_No more killing. I’ve done enough._ **

Natasha scoffed, “I went through that faze once, believe me you’ll get over it. I did.”

* * *

Fury’s extraction was right on time. What neither Romanoff or Ward was expecting was for the man himself to flying the plane, Ward held back a comment about depth perception, knowing Fury would be more than happy to strand him in Russia. The truth was, he was secretly pleased to see Fury. He could sign with Fury, Ward was tired of scribbling in his notebook for Natasha. He actually smiled when he sure Fury, _Where to?_

“Romanoff’s being sent to the deliver the package.” Fury almost yelled above the sound of the small plane’s engine.

Ward was slightly disappointed he wasn’t the one coming to Fitz’s rescue, but he wasn’t ready, not yet. _And me?_

Fury smiled one of his annoying smiles, “You’re going after a girl in a flower dress.”


	7. Along Came a Spider

To say Coulson was having bad day was understatement, Phil Coulson having a bad week. Don’t get him wrong, he was glad that certain members of his team were coming out of their funks, he just wished that he wasn’t the target of Skye and May’s new team up. Months ago on the bus he had mentioned to Skye about the old Melinda May, who loved to prank people, apparently Skye had reawakened that side of the Calvary and had been roped in alongside her. At first he was happy to see smiles on his team’s faces, even Simmons cracked one when Trip had come to breakfast in a pink shirt, which he was forced to wear all day until Skye returned his original clothing. But it was starting to get out of hand, Skye’s latest prank involved hacking Coulson’s computer and no matter what he searched a cat in a tuxedo appeared on his screen, he didn’t know what May’s side of the prank was, but he dreaded to think. To limit any exposure to one of May’s pranks, Coulson was currently barricaded in his office searching the security feed for any sign of her activities. For a split second Coulson wondered if he was being paranoid, then he remembered the mayonnaise in the yogurt container and decided it’s better to be safe than sorry. He had just about resigned himself to the fact that maybe, just once, May hadn’t joined Skye in a prank, that was until he saw movement on one of the outside cameras. It was snowing outside and he dreaded to think what May and Skye could do if armed with snow. This time Coulson was going to put his foot down, there wasn’t going to be inside his secret base and there defiantly wasn’t going to be any snow in the hands of a marksman as good as Melinda May.

Coulson sighed and making sure the coast was clear, headed outside to make sure no snow was being brought into his base. Only it wasn’t the Calvary that was outside the Playground, it wasn’t even Skye. When the door of the Playground slid open Coulson came face to face with the Black Widow.

Coulson was shocked when the assassin pulled him into a hug, it took him a second to realise that this was the first time she had seen him since New York. That she had thought him dead.

Pulling away, Natasha smiled, “Sorry, I didn’t expect you’d be the one to answer the door.”

Coulson returned the smile, “I thought you were May trying to sneak snow inside.”

Natasha’s smile widened, “Glad to see the old May’s back.”

Coulson laughed, “Stay here a week and you’ll regret these words,” Sobering he looked the Widow up and down, “Speaking of which, what are you doing here?”

Natasha just raised an eyebrow, “Aren’t you just happy to see me?”

Coulson smiled again, “I’m always happy to see you, that doesn’t mean you don’t have an agenda.” He paused, “And another thing, how did you know I was alive?”

Natasha just gave him a knowing look.

Coulson nodded, “Fury?”

The assassin nodded, “In answer to both your questions.” She sighed, “Do you mind if I come inside, it’s rather cold out here.”

Coulson stepped back to allow the red haired woman to enter. Allowing the door to slide close Coulson sighed, “Do I want to know why Fury sent you?”

Natasha laughed, “Don’t panic, Coulson,” She turned to face the new director, “I’m here to save your engineer. I believe his name is Fitz.”

* * *

Simmons had had better days but since the day Fitz had saved her life she defiantly had had worse. For almost four months she had spent almost every waking hour by Fitz’s side, the time she wasn’t at his side she was being forced to eat, sleep or shower by a member of the team, usually Trip. The team tended to leave her alone with Fitz, they visited every so often. Part of Jemma wanted to spend all her time in the lab trying to find some way of helping the comatose engineer, but she couldn’t leave his side in search of a cure that may never be found. Every day the biochemist searched for signs that Fitz was waking up, or a sign was to know that he could at least hear her and every day she was disappointed.

Simmons sighed when Trip came in to take her to dinner, she had given up resisting. Standing she kissed Fitz on the cheek and followed the specialist out of the room.

May and Skye were already in the dining area, Koenig, who was actually quite a good cook, was probably in the kitchen. Simmons was surprised Coulson wasn’t the first one there, the again he’d been avoiding May and Skye like the plague recently. Checking her chair for any of Skye’s surprises, Simmons sighed and sat down. As soon as dinner was done she would return to Fitz for a couple of hours before bed. Maybe tonight would be the night, maybe tonight Fitz would wake up.

When the door opened and Coulson finally arrived Skye looked like she was going to comment about his tardiness, until she realized he wasn’t alone.

May looked the visitor up and down, “Romanoff.”

Natasha nodded in greeting, “May.” She turned to Trip, “Triplett.”

Trip nodded as well, “Romanoff.”

Skye stood and held out a hand, “Skye.”

Natasha shook it, looking as if she recognized the name, “Natasha.”

“Romanoff, I take it.” Skye smiled.

Natasha just nodded.

Simmons didn’t say anything, choosing just to stare at the table. She knew who the black widow was, everyone did, she just didn’t care, not today, she briefly wondered if she ever would.

Coulson seemed to understand the biochemist’s reluctance to talk, so he introduced her himself, “That’s Simmons and I’m sure Koenig’s around here somewhere.”

Natasha shrugged, “Don’t worry, it’s not him I’m here to see.”

Skye, May and Trip were immediately interested, Simmons wasn’t, she wanted Koenig to deliver dinner so she could force it down and return to Fitz. It wasn’t until Romanoff placed a vile of clear liquid in front of her that Simmons actually looked up.

Curious, she picked it up, “What’s this?”

Natasha shrugged, “I was hoping you could tell me.”

Simmons stood, deciding dinner could wait, “I don’t have time.”

As she turned to leave Natasha grabbed her arm, the assassin spoke quietly, “Whatever that stuff is, I’ve seen it make a brain dead man walk, not only that I’ve seen that man run.” The assassin smiled at the shock on the biochemist’s face, “I thought that might interest you.”

Grabbing the vile from the table Simmons all but ran with it to the lab. Maybe today wasn’t such a bad day after all.


	8. When the Rain Falls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There are some bloody descriptions in this chapter, be warned if you don’t like blood don’t read the last 250 words or so

Tracking Raina had proved harder than Ward thought it would be. His first thought was to track down Ian Quinn, hoping to find Raina with him. Ward tracked down Quinn quickly, only he was alone. He would have considered it a wasted trip if he hadn’t got to punch the man, very hard, in the gut, twice before he delivered Quinn to Fury’s little jail. He briefly wondered if he should break his no killing policy for Quinn but decided against it, if he broke it once it would be easier to break next time and the time after than until he was nothing but the serial killer Skye thought he was.

Ward followed every lead he could, every rumour about Raina. He even went to superhuman sightings in the hope that her quest for evolution would lead her to the same place. For almost a month all Ward got was dead ends. He went from country to country, following lead after lead. He went from the deserts of Africa to the snow of Siberia within a week. When he wasn’t running half way around the world on a fool’s errand Ward was in Fury’s bunker. It reminded Ward of prison, only slightly brighter and he wasn’t in a cage all the time, only when operatives who didn’t know of his deal with Fury were on base and even then Ward had to admit it was a gilded cage. It was during one of these times of solitude that Ward finally found what he was looking for. There were no sighting, no rumours, it was almost if there was a hole in the sightings and security net that Fury had created. Ward had no doubt that he would find Raina at the very centre of the hole. Now all he needed to do was wait for someone who called himself Falcon to leaver and Ward could begin his hunt anew.

* * *

The town that Ward eventually found himself in wasn’t exactly the centre of the universe. In fact the entire adult male population managed to fit in the local bar come five o’clock. By five minutes past five Ward had already heard about the attractive, single woman who had taken up residence just outside of town. A woman in the habit of wearing flower dresses whenever she made the trip into town. Rumour was she was a scientist who wanted to conduct her research away from the big cities. Ward left quickly after learning of the farm’s location, before he too could become the subject of the town’s rumour mill.

It took Ward twenty minutes to find the farm. The only building on the property was the house, little more than a shack. After having met Raina, Ward doubted the woman had planned to stay in a place like this for long. He watched the house from a distance for almost three hours, by then Ward was confident that no one was home. The plan was to wait inside for Raina to return, that way he could surprise her and hopefully have her detained quickly.

However the second he opened the door Ward knew something was wrong. The house smelled of blood, a lot of blood, there was a trail of it leading to and from the door. Whoever had been bleeding had done so both when they had entered and exited the house. But the smell was stronger than it should have been if it had only been the trail of blood. Ward stepped carefully, following the trail of blood, gun ready, just in case.

Ward had seen a lot of dead people, he’d even been responsible for the death of some of those people but nothing could have prepared him for the sight that met him in the living room. By the flower dress, he had to assume the body on the floor had once been Raina, there wasn’t much of left of her now. Whoever, whatever, had gotten to her hadn’t been quick. From what was left of the woman Ward had to guess she had been flayed alive, Ward grimaced, no-one deserved to die that way, not even Raina.

Checking the rest of the house, Ward found it was empty whoever, whatever had done this was long gone, by the stench he guessed Raina had been dead for about two or three hours before he’d even got into town.

However it wasn’t the body that chilled Ward to the bone, it was the collage of pictures on the wall. Someone whose hands had been covered in blood had fingered nearly every single one of them, as if they were looking for something. Every single photo was of the same person and whoever killed Raina now had their eyes set on that person.

Every single picture was of Skye.

Pulling out his phone Ward sent a message to Fury:

**We have a problem.**

* * *

 

 Halfway around the world Leo Fitz woke up screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews remind me to update :)


	9. Waking the Dead

For someone who had been in a coma for over four months Leo Fitz was doing remarkably well and for some reason that worried Jemma Simmons. It had taken almost two weeks of constant testing to convince Simmons that the drug Agent Romanoff had provided wouldn’t do Fitz any harm. Unfortunately there was no other way to test if it would do any good without testing it on the comatose engineer. From what little research Simmons had been able to conduct without contaminating the vile she had learned it contained a serum that should, in theory, allow brain cells to regenerate and heal. A week ago the biochemist had reached the limits of her tests, to know if the serum would wake Fitz she had to inject him with it.

Hoping for an immediate response Simmons was disappointed, it had taken almost a full day for there to be any signs of improvement. A day later Leo Fitz had woken up screaming. Simmons had been at his side at the time, it had taken almost an hour to calm the engineer, to convince him they had both survived the decompression of the storage container. The last thing Fitz had remembered was the water crashing into the container knowing he was about to die.

Now after being awake for only five days all Fitz could talk about was getting out of bed. It had taken all of Simmons’ skill as a doctor and even some of Trip’s brute strength to stop the engineer from getting out of bed on day one. Simmons had run every test she could think of, the lab in the playground was a dream come true but now even the biochemist had to admit there was nothing wrong with Fitz, not anymore, in fact according to the tests the engineer was in better shape than he had been going into the coma. Simmons finally had to admit that Fitz had no reason to stay confined to the infirmary wing of the playground. She smiled when the first thing Fitz asked to do was check on the DWARFS and the rest of the work that had been on the bus when it had been stolen by Ward.

To see Fitz up and around, arguing with Simmons or tinkering with one of his projects, brought a smile to every member of the team’s face. Even May cracked a smile when the engineer had walked out of the infirmary without any help. The mood in the Playground had brightened when Skye and May had started pranking but the final dark cloud had lifted with Fitz’s recovery. It was almost as if the team had returned to normal. The threat of HYDRA was gone and Coulson could finally focus all of his attention on rebuilding SHIELD.

So when the Black Widow came into his office wearing a rather grim expression Coulson knew it was going to be bad news. He sighed as the assassin sat in the chair on the other side of his desk, “You’ve been in contact with Fury.”

It wasn’t a question but Natasha answered it as one, “I have.”

Coulson crossed his arms, “For a dead gut he sure has a lot to say.”

Natasha mirrored his crossed arms, “The Playground had been compromised.”

Uncrossing his arms, Coulson sat forward, “How?”

Natasha shrugged, “No idea, all I know is that one of Fury’s operatives found evidence of surveillance on this location.” She sighed and answered the question she was sure was coming, “And no I don’t who was watching you and I don’t know why.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow, “You didn’t ask?”

Once again Natasha mirrored Coulson’s position, “I did, but that doesn’t mean that Fury answered me. That man has more secrets than there are people on earth.”

Coulson gave a small smile, “I assume the man had a suggestion for our next location.”

The Black Widow gave a half smile “I hear London’s nice this time of year.”


	10. Of Monsters and Men

Sitting in his gilded cage, Grant Ward was getting antsy. It had had been almost a week since he had found Raina, or at least what was left of her and all Ward wanted to do was run to Skye and make sure whatever had gotten Raina hadn’t gotten her too. However Fury had told him to wait and like the good little solider he was, Ward had waited but he was reaching his limits. He’d spent the last two days taking out his frustration on the punching bag, the only problem with this was that this reminded Ward of when he’d taught Skye to punch which made him punch harder. This led to the bloody hands he was currently trying to clean and fix.

Watching the blood mix with the water Ward thought about the trail of blood in Raina’s house. The blood, the blood had been going into the house, not just leaving it. Whoever had killed Raina had trailed blood into the house, most likely their own and Ward had collected samples just in case, they had the killer’s DNA.

Stopping briefly to dry his hands Ward went in search of Fury. The former director wasn’t that difficult to find, only he and Ward resided here permanently and Ward had quickly learned the layout of the base like the back of his hand. The one eyed man was currently occupying his time by using multiple screens to watch events unfold all around the world. Big brother indeed.

Fury turned around when Ward entered the small room, “Agent Ward?”

_We have the killer’s DNA_ , Ward signed quickly. Fury didn’t look shocked, Ward immediately knew that the spy master had figured it out, probably days ago, _But you’ve already run it, haven’t you?_

Fury nodded, “I have.”

Ward looked at him expectantly, _And?_

“It’s no one on our files.” Fury shrugged.

Ward had been around Fury long enough to tell when he was holding something back, _But you found something else._

It wasn’t a question and part of Ward’s deal was no lies, on either side. Fury sighed and nodded, “A couple of things actually.”

Ward sat down in the only other seat in the room, _Go on._

Fury raised an eyebrow, it wasn’t everyday someone told him what to do, but continued anyway, “Whatever killed that girl wasn’t human.”

_Alien?_ Ward asked.

Fury shook his head, “None we’ve come across and certain markers seem to indicate that whoever, whatever, it was has spent most, if not all, of its life on earth.”

_So not an alien, but not human_ , Ward almost sighed in frustration, _What else is there_?

“I believe you already know the answer to that, Agent Ward. Since you’ve been here you’ve had unrestricted access to the old SHIELD files,” Fury looked directly at Ward, “And you’ve only ever read one.”

_I was checking on a story I heard_ , Ward paused, realizing the implications of Fury’s words, _Are you saying that whatever killed Raina is the same thing that attacked the village Skye was born in?_

“I am.” Fury crossed his arms, “I believe the report described them as monsters.”

Ward sat forward, _It’s also rumoured that those monsters were Skye’s parents._

Fury turned, pulling up a DNA profile on one of his screens, “DNA would confirm that rumour. Her father to be precise.”

Ward sat back in shock, whoever had killed Raina was Skye’s father. The same person who had killed an entire village in search of her. So Ward asked the only question that ran through his mind, _Is Skye safe?_

Fury sighed, “Honestly I don’t know. Some of the pictures you found show the girl at the location I sent Romanoff to.”

_So he knows where she is._ Now Ward was getting worried, _The question is will he hurt her?_

Fury shook his head again, “I don’t think so. But I have no doubt he’ll hurt anyone who gets in his way.”

_You need to warn Widow._

“I already have. She’ll advise Coulson without telling him the entirety of what’s going on.” Fury replied.

_She doesn’t know what’s coming for them, does she?_ Ward asked angrily.

“No she doesn’t.” Fury replied, “Romanoff knows that the Playground’s been compromised, that’s all she needs to know.”

_More secrets. You need someone there who knows what’s coming._ Ward signed.

“I need someone who can stop what’s coming before it even reaches Coulson and his team.” Fury stood up.

Ward stood, reading between Fury’s lines, _What do you want me to do?_

“What are you prepared to do?”

Ward looked the former SHIELD director in the eye, _To protect her? Anything._

“Exactly what I want to hear, Agent Ward.” Fury nodded, “I’ve instructed Agent Romanoff to get Coulson and his team to London. That’s where you’re heading.”

_I doubt they will be happy to see me,_ Ward signed raising an eyebrow.

Fury crossed his arms, “Then I suggest you don’t be seen.”

_My orders?_

Fury gave one of his knowing smiles, “No orders. You don’t need them. Do what you’ve always wanted to do. Protect the girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendly reminder that this was written before season 2 was released, Skye's father in this story is not Cal.


	11. London Calling

Skye decided that being stuck in Fury’s secret London base wasn’t so bad, at least this base was above ground. It was an old building, technically classed as university accommodation, so as long as the team pretended to be either students or staff they were free to roam London as they saw fit. The team had a good laugh when Simmons all but dragged Fitz to the British Museum. Skye had even managed to drag the entire team to a musical, she regretted the decision when Fitz wouldn’t stop singing for a whole week. Secretly she was happy to see the engineer being his usual annoying self but Skye complained about the singing right along with everyone else.

Today it was Fitz’s turn to choose the team’s activity and he chose the London Zoo, to no one’s surprise the first thing the engineer wanted to see was the monkeys. The second that arrived at the zoo Fitz was off and talking, “Did you know the enclosure is 1500 square metres, it houses a breeding group of black-capped squirrel monkeys.” Barely pausing to breath he continued, “The habitat was designed to recreate the Bolivian rainforest as closely as possible.”

Natasha was currently walking beside Skye, the assassin turned to the hacker, “Do you think Coulson would be angry if I gaged him?”

Skye smiled, “You can use my sock.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow, obviously confused.

Skye sighed, “To put a sock in it.” When the assassin didn’t laugh Skye through up her hands in defeat, “Never mind. Just my luck, loose one robot, gain another.”

Suddenly Skye stopped, the meaning of her own wards seeping in. She stopped, sitting on one of the seats along the path. Skye sighed, she’d fought so long and so long to keep the memories of Ward at bay and today they had come flooding back. Breathing deeply Skye tried to push the memories, the feeling she had felt for the man, back down. She looked up when someone sat down next to her.

Natasha smiled, “I’m sorry I didn’t find your joke funny. People don’t usually joke about my line of work.”

Skye shook her head, wiping away a tear that had escaped, “It’s not you.”

Natasha gave the hacker a worried look, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Skye nodded weakly, “If you don’t mind. It might be good to talk to someone who wasn’t actually involved.”

Natasha stood, holding out a hand to Skye, “Talking helps, believe me,” She smiled, “Food also helps.”

Skye smiled, letting Natasha pull her up, “Where to?”

The Black Widow shrugged, “I’m sure there’s a café around here somewhere.”

Skye looked at the rest of the team, soon to be lost in the crowd, “What about the others?”

Natasha gave a devious smile, “We can get food or we can listen to Fitz go on about monkeys for another hour before the others decide they’ve had enough and want food and even then I doubt we’d be able to talk.”

Skye nodded, “Food it is.”

* * *

Sitting in a small café Skye didn’t know where to start. She sipped her coffee wondering if it would have been better to stay and listen to Fitz talk about his monkeys. Sighing Skye rubbed sleep from her eyes, “What do you want to know?”

Natasha sipped her own drink, “What do you want to tell me?”  
Skye starred at the table, “What do you already know?”  
Natasha shrugged, “Your S.O. was HYDRA. I assume that’s what this is about.”

Skye nodded weakly, “He was close to being more than just my S.O.” She sighed, “He was…He could have been…” Skye through up her hands, almost spilling her drink, “I don’t know what he was.”

Natasha gave a half smile, “For what it’s worth, I understand.”

Skye looked doubtful, “You understand?” She almost laughed, “You’re just like May, cold as ice. I doubt either of you have ever been in my situation.”

Natasha actually smiled at Skye’s outburst, “Not recently, but when I was your age, before SHIELD.”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “Did he betray you? Did he shoot at you? ‘Cause if he didn’t then you don’t understand.”

“He shot me. Twice. One of those times was very recently.” Suddenly Natasha scoffed, “Do you know what’s funny? I hardly ever tell anyone about my past and this is the second time I’ve had this conversation in as many months.”

Skye looked surprised, “Who else could you have possibly had this conversation with? And what does that have to do with Ward?”

Natasha smiled, “It doesn’t matter who I had the conversation with, what matters is what he said and it’s the same thing I’m saying to you. No matter what he did you still love him. You will always love him and no matter how many time you tell yourself you hate him, that he’s a monster you will keep loving him, hoping for his redemption. You keep hoping he will find his way back to you.”

Skye gave a half smile, “I never said anything about love.”

Natasha returned the half smile, “It’s written all over your face. It’s my job to notice these things.”

Skye pushed herself up from the table, “I need some time to think.” She nodded to the assassin, “I’ll see you back at base.”

Natasha merely nodded in response.

* * *

 

 As she left the zoo and headed out into the busy London streets Skye got the feeling she was being followed. So much for not thinking about Ward, he was the one who taught her evasion techniques, the same ones she now put in place. Unfortunately Skye didn’t know London very well, she ended up in a dead end alley. Three men followed her into the alley and Sky began to panic as her escape options became very limited.

Standing her ground Skye looked at the men, “What do you want?”  
One man stepped forward, giving a smile that chilled Skye to the bone “We want you to come with us.”

Skye actually laughed, “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”

One of the other men stepped forward, “We weren’t asking.”

The man moved so fast that Skye didn’t have time to block the blow to her head. She fell to the ground, trying to stand she failed to block another blow. Suddenly the first man fell to the ground, then the second and finally the man who had remained at the alley’s entrance. As everything began to go fuzzy Skye felt someone pick her up, she saw a worried face looking at her and before everything went black Skye briefly wondered what Grand Ward was doing in London.


	12. So Close Yet So Far

Arriving in London Grant Ward had taken great pains to find a base of operations close enough to the team that he could protect them but far enough away that they didn’t notice the constant surveillance. Fury had informed Romanoff that a surveillance team was in place for the team’s protection, although Ward doubted the Black Widow knew that the team only consisted of an Ex-HYDRA agent willing to do anything to protect one member of Coulson’s team. With the amount of time he had spent following the team Ward was surprised he hadn’t been spotted, especially when he followed them on a team outing which included May, Coulson, Romanoff and Trip. Twice in the last week Ward had noticed people paying close attention to the group, another time he had spotted a tail on them. As a specialist Ward had been taught to make quick work of anyone, or anything, perceived as a threat, but that job had become considerably harder since he decided killing wasn’t an option. That said, the three threats had been dealt with quickly, the surveillance team and their van had a nasty run in with a traffic light pole and the tail had a run in with an open man hole. Neither group was dead, they just wouldn’t be doing any spying for a while.

Ward noticed that the team took turns choosing the group outing and it was also something predictable, so he wasn’t surprised when Fitz chose the London Zoo and he defiantly wasn’t surprised when the team headed towards the monkeys as soon as they entered the zoo. Keeping track of the team in the crowd proved difficult, while large groups of people helped hide his presence they also hid the presence of any tails. Ward had almost given up, he’d considered letting Romanoff and May deal with any threat that came at the team while at the zoo, when he noticed Skye stop midway through a conversation with Agent Romanoff. The hacker sat down looking like she was going to burst into tears and only Romanoff stopped to check on her. Ward briefly wondered whether he should continue to trail the team but as far as he knew Skye had always been the target so she was likely to be the target again. The specialist hoped May and Trip could deal with any threats that came the team’s way because today Skye was his priority. From the distance he kept Ward couldn’t hear Skye and Romanoff’s conversation but it didn’t last long as the Black Widow offered Skye a hand and they walked off in the opposite direction to the team.

Ward trailed the pair to a small café where they sat in silence for a while, eventually they started talking, what surprised Ward was that from what he could see it was Agent Romanoff that did most of the talking. Suddenly Skye stood, obviously upset about something the Widow had said, the hacker walked off and Ward was surprised again when the assassin didn’t follow her. Ward didn’t wait to see where Natasha went, his priority was Skye, whom he quickly followed.

It didn’t take Ward long to spot the tail on the hacker, this time there was three of them. But in the busy London streets it was difficult to create an accident for the trio without drawing attention to himself. It took the specialist another block to notice that Skye was using the evasion techniques he’s taught her, meaning she had wither spotted him or the trio of men. Ward guessed it was the men, they were closer to her and weren’t hiding their presence as well as he was. Ward didn’t London very well but he obviously knew it better than Skye, the way was now heading led to a dead end. Ward knew he couldn’t stop the men before they cornered Skye in the alley she now heading down, his only hope was that the alley trapped them as well.

Ward arrived in the alley just as Skye received a blow to the head, by the time the second blow came Ward had reached her attacker, he moved fast, faster than he thought he could, in three blows all three men were unconscious on the floor.

Ward ran over to Skye, she was barely conscious as he picked her up, he caught her looking at him, but the look was far away like she didn’t fully comprehend his presence. As he adjusted his grip on the hacker she slipped in an unconscious state. Ward had had enough head injuries to know hers wasn’t life threatening, she’d have a head ache in the morning but she would recover.

Taking back alleys and side streets Ward made his way back to his own apartment, he received a few strange looks from people but he kept walking. When people looked a little too curious he made the universal sign for drinking and they tended to lose interest, some even gave him a knowing smile. He briefly considered taking the hacker back to her own room at Coulson’s base but decided against it. If the team was still at the zoo then Skye would be on her own and if they weren’t Ward doubted he could sneak past them all with an unconscious Skye in his arms and just turning up with a bloody Skye in his arms was a sure way to get shot.

Sneaking past the landlady proved easier than expected, the woman was in her eighties but had a habit of peeking out her door whenever someone so much as tip toed past her door. Ward had hoped to time his arrival during her nap, when the door didn’t open he almost sighed in relief, he didn’t want to explain the girl in his arms. Taking the stairs carefully Ward made it up to his rooms without incident. Carefully shifting the hacker in his arms he pulled the keys from his pocket and opened his door. Peeking his head in Ward checked for danger, finding none he entered the apartment. It wasn’t big and it wasn’t pretty but Ward didn’t need much, he didn’t spend much time here anyway.

Ward carefully placed Skye on the bed, using a damp towel he cleaned the blood from the hacker’s face. After cleaning the blood from the towel Ward took a seat at the desk in the corner of the room. He knew that the hacker would have questions and he doubted she would wait long enough for him to scribble notes when she asked those questions. Pulling card out of the desk draw Ward begin to write his response to every question he thought she would ask. It was a long list and Ward doubted he would finish before the hacker woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there isn’t much (or any) talking in this chapter but there is a lot in the next to hopefully that will make everything better.


	13. A Matter of Trust

Skye woke slowly, her head pounding like a really bad hangover. It took her a few seconds to realise that she wasn’t in her own room, then she remembered the attack in the alley but she wasn’t sure about the last memory. Grant Ward couldn’t be in London, he was in some deep, dark hole with no hope of ever getting out. So when she notice the HYDRA agent sitting in the corner of the room Skye was immediately on edge, in an instant her head cleared and she was ready for a fight. What surprised Skye was that Ward wasn’t, he jerked in surprise when the hacker pulled him off his chair from behind, pinning him to the floor. The moment his surprise cleared Ward actually looked impressed, like he was proud of Skye for being able to surprise him. Skye waited for Ward to say something, another lie maybe even maybe the truth for once. Instead he just lay there, pinned beneath Skye’s knees, he didn’t fight back, and he didn’t flip her even though Skye knew he was capable of it. Ward just lay there waiting for Skye to calm down.

Finally Skye had enough of his silence, standing she kicked him in the side, hard, “Say something.” She yelled.

Using the force of the kick to roll over Ward pulled himself to his feet. Grabbing a piece of paper from the desk he handed it to Skye, confused she read what he had written, **_Can’t talk. Not since May hit me._**

Looking at the man standing in front of her, Skye felt pity for him but she pushed it down, this man didn’t deserve her pity. Looking for a weapon Skye talked to keep his attention, “Why aren’t you in prison, Ward? Why are you in London? Who sent you?”

In response Ward held up a single word, **_Fury._**

Skye wasn’t convinced, “You’re working for Fury, why would he trust you?”

Ward actually smiled at that one, searching through the pile of paper Skye saw on the desk, he held up his response, **_Never said he trusted me. To work together you only need the same goals._**

Skye crossed her arms, “You and Fury have the same goals now do you? Last I checked Fury wasn’t HYDRA.”

This time Ward picked up two cards, **_I was never loyal to HYDRA, only Garrett. Garrett’s gone therefore no HYDRA._** And, **_My goal is the same as it has been for months; to protect you and the team._**

This just made Skye angry, “Protect the team! You threw FitzSimmons into the bloody ocean, they almost drowned. Fitz was in a coma for months and if it wasn’t for some miracle cure he probably still would be, he might even be dead.”

Ward paused for a second, letting Skye finish her rant. He then picked up another response, a long one, **_I was ordered to kill them, I follow my orders but instead of shooting them I pushed them out of plane in an air tight container DESIGNED to float. I figured Coulson would be tracking them and they would spend a couple of hours in there at the most. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen._**

Skye clenched her fists, trying very hard not to hit the man, “Just because you didn’t mean it doesn’t make it any better. They almost died and it’s all your fault.”

Ward didn’t have a response to that. If he tried to apologise she would hate him and if he shrugged it off she would hate him, better to stay silent and let her vent on the subject.

The hacker walked around the room, trying very hard not to punch either Ward or the wall. Finally she stopped and turned to the man who had betrayed her team, “Why are you here?”

Ward just held up another card, his face blank, **_Something’s coming. I’m here to protect you from it._**

Skye scoffed, “Why should I trust you?”

Ward shrugged, **_I don’t need your trust to protect you. I can do my job just as well without your test as with it._**

Suddenly Skye smiled, “What if I tell Coulson you’re here. He’ll come here with May and I doubt you’ll leave alive this time.”

Ward smiled at her idea, **_I’ll be long gone before they get here, but it won’t stop me from doing my job. It will just make it harder for me to stop what’s coming._**

“Like you stopped that attack today.” Skye snorted, “Great job.”

Ward’s smile disappeared, **_I didn’t get there in time but I’ve stopped others before they’ve even reached you. That’s my job, to stop the danger before you’re even aware of it._**

Uncrossing her arms Skye took a step forward, “What if you’re the danger?”

Ward looked hurt at her response, **_I would never hurt you._**

Skye scoffed, “Yeah, because of your ‘feelings’ for me. We both know that’s a load of bull.”

Ward sighed and sat down, **_Believe what you want, I will always protect you._**

Picking up a notebook Ward pushed it into Skye’s hands, he’d taped a note to it:

**_Exit’s down stairs._ **

**_You’re about two blocks away from the base._ **

**_When you leave the house turn left._ **

**_You’ll find your way eventually._ **

**_If you want more answers, if you want to understand read the note book._ **

**_Or don’t._ **

**_Keep it either way._ **

After reading the note Skye looked up, only to realise Ward was no longer in the room. From the note she doubted he was coming back before she left. Angrily Skye picked up her bag, realizing Ward must have brought it here, she left his apartment, then the house. Just for good measure Skye slammed the front door on her way out.


	14. Turn Left

Turning left Skye stormed down the street. How dare he just disappear like that, after everything he’d put her through in the last few months, how dare he not give her answers. A block from Ward’s apartment Skye recognized where she was, this made her ever angrier, how dare he be so close and not make contact. She could understand not contacting May or Coulson but her, after spilling all his ‘feelings’ for her Grant Ward still left her to suffer alone.

Stopping just in sight of the base Skye sunk to the pavement and cried, after everything Ward had done, to her, to the team he could still hurt her so much because she cared. Natasha had been right, deep down Skye had hoped that Ward would find his way back to her but when he did she pushed him away. After everything he had done Grant Ward didn’t deserve redemption but deep down that didn’t stop Skye hoping for it.

Wiping away the tears Skye stood up, she wasn’t going to let Grant Ward be her weakness. Pulling herself together Skye suddenly realized that the streets were dark, she’d been out cold for hours. The team must be worried sick.

Turning her key in the lock Skye entered the base as silently as she could, but it wasn’t silent enough. As she climbed the stairs to her room Skye was met by May, who didn’t look impressed. In fact Skye had only seen that look once before, when May had found her with Miles.

May’s arms were crossed, “Where have you been?” In that instant Skye decided against telling the team about Ward, he would be long gone before anyone got to his apartment and if he really was helping she would make it that much harder. So Skye shrugged, “Out.”

May raised an eyebrow, blocking Skye’s path to her room, “All day and all night?”

Again Skye shrugged, “I met a boy.”

Pushing past May Skye smiled to herself, she hadn’t actually told a lie. She quickly made it to her room and locked the door. Looking at the note book in her hands Skye threw it across the room, she wanted answers from Ward himself not from some stupid book.

When someone knocked on the door Skye picked up the notebook and shoved it under the bed, it wasn’t exactly something she wanted the rest of the team to read even if she didn’t want to read it herself.

“Go away.” Skye yelled at whoever was behind the door.

When the door opened Skye jumped and spun to face the intruder, “It was locked for a reason.”

The Black Widow shrugged, “I’ve always seen locked doors of more of a challenge than a deterrent, much like keep out signs are only suggestions.”

Skye sat on her bed and crossed her arms, “What do you want?” Natasha crossed her own arms, “Was it worth it?”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “Was what worth it?”

“Screwing some random guy, did it help you forget about your S.O?”

Skye almost laughed, so that’s what the team thought she had been doing. No wonder she’d gotten that look from May. If that’s what the team wanted to think so be it, it was better than knowing the truth. Playing the game Skye shrugged, “Did it help you?”

Natasha raised an eyebrow, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Skye gave a half smile, “Did screwing random guys help you forget the guy that shot you?”

Sighing Natasha sat on the bed next to Skye, “No and neither did having an actual relationship,” Putting a hand on the hacker’s shoulder she continues, “You don’t forget, you try to move on and some days you finally think you’re free, then suddenly something reminds you of them and you’re back at square one.”

Skye sighed, maybe the assassin did understand, “What do you do? How do you forget?”

Natasha gave a weak smile, “You don’t. You learn from it and hope that one day they find their way back to you.”

Skye looked the Black Widow up and down, “Did he find his way back to you?”

Natasha had a distant look about her when she answered, “Not yet.” Then she smiled, “But recent events may bring him back to me soon.” Getting up the assassin looked at Skye, “I’ll leave you alone.”

Skye nodded in gratitude, when the assassin got to the door Skye spoke, “If it’s worth anything I worked out a lot of anger today.”

Skye smiled after Natasha left. Not a complete lie.


	15. Trapped

The second he heard the front door slam Ward wondered if he had made a terrible mistake. He wondered if he should have told Skye the truth about who was after her, about what was after her. He’d made it seem that whatever was coming was coming for the team as a whole, when the truth was it was coming for he and the team was in the way.

Over the next couple of days Ward continued to wonder about Skye. He worried that keeping the truth from Coulson and the team would put them in more danger. In his weekly report to Fury Ward asked permission to share some of the truth, at least with Agent Romanoff so at least one other person knew the truth. His request was denied. Then Ward suggested the team relocate, he’s stopped two more groups in the past three days, the team’s location was compromised. Again his request was denied. Slamming the laptop shut Ward got angry, Fury’s excuses were flimsy at best and non-existent at worst. Ward briefly wondered if Fury knew more about Skye’s father than he was letting on, probably, but Ward doubted he’d be given answers if he asked for them. No, if Ward wanted answers he would have to get them himself.

Ward’s chance to get answers came two days later when he noticed surveillance on Simmons and Fitz on their morning coffee run. The two man team wasn’t exactly being discrete, FitzSimmons never noticed them but the other members of the team would have. However Ward was surprised when the surveillance team didn’t get up to follow the science duo back to base. Usually this would be the time Ward would arrange an accident for the surveillance, maybe a car accident or a trip down the tube stairs. Not today though, today Ward was going to follow them and hopefully find out where they were getting their orders from, or at least find a base of operations for all the lackeys. Ward felt something close to guilt when he followed the duo to Greenwich, the last time he had been here it had been with the team cleaning up after Thor’s visit. That visit had led to the berserker staff and whole other world of problems for Ward. He cringed, not just at the memory of the staff but at the memories the staff bought up in him. The same memories that Ward had suppressed for over a decade. He briefly wondered about maybe talking to someone about his past, maybe getting some of his issues worked out but then the car carrying the surveillance team stopped and the thought was gone.

The team had stopped at what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, Ward knew from experience that places like this were never truly abandoned, just the property of people who liked to hide things.

Choosing a building across the road from the warehouse, also abandoned, he climbed to the roof. The higher vantage point allowed Ward to see the entrance of the warehouse, hopefully without being seen himself. That, however, was not to be the case.

“So you’re the one keeping me from my daughter.”

Grant Ward had seen many things in his life, things that would haunt almost anyone else but nothing prepared him for the sight that awaited him when he turned to face the voice. On the roof behind Ward stood a man, he looked human except for the fact that he was covered from head to toe in blood, it dripped from a thousand cuts that covered his body.

The man smiled at the look on Ward’s face, taking a step forward he looked the specialist up and down, “I did wonder who had both the audacity and skill to take on my minions.”

Ward held back a laugh, who used the word minion but Ward quickly decided this wasn’t a man who would take being laughed at well. The urge for Ward to step back as the man advanced was strong, but Ward held his ground. If there was only one thing he kept from years with Garrett it was not to show weakness in front of a potential enemy. Ward looked the man up and down, trying not to cringe at all the blood, behind the man was a trail of blood exactly the same as he had found in Raina’s house. There was no doubt in Ward’s mind that this was Skye’s father and he was dangerous.

The man raised a blood covered eyebrow when he noticed that Ward was holding his ground, “It takes a very brave soul not to flinch when I walk towards them. Tell me, did you think I wouldn’t notice the constant accidents that seemed to befall my minions? Did you think I wouldn’t find a way to find you?”

Ward clenched his fists when he realised the truth. The surveillance team had been a trap. And he’d walked right into it.

Grand Ward was so surprised that he’d fallen into the trap that he missed the first punch heading for his face.


	16. A Matter of Honour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is a lot of blood in this chapter so if you don’t like blood and guts then don’t read. Just be warned that this chapter is really important in terms of Ward’s character so if you do skip it then you’ll miss a lot.

The first blow collided with Ward’s chin, throwing the specialist off balance. Unbalanced Ward missed his chance to block the kick to his side, he hit the ground, hard. When he tried to stand Ward was pulled up by his hair, bringing him face to face with the scarred man.

The look the man gave Ward was one that a human gave an ant right before they stepped on them, “I’d like to know where my daughter is.”

In response Ward spat on him, then kicked the man in the chest, forcing him to release Ward as he stumbled back from the force of the kick.

But Ward’s respite didn’t last long, Skye’s father was strong and fast, for every blow the specialist managed to block another two made contact. Ward himself only managed to land a few punches and a kick or two. No matter what Ward did the bloody man kept coming. Soon Ward could barely stand but after each blow he forced himself to his feet, father or not this man was after Skye, even as he coughed up blood Ward wouldn’t give in. Ward had met men like this before, it didn’t matter that Skye was his daughter he would hurt her if the need arose and Ward wasn’t going to let a man like that anywhere near Skye, even if it killed him.

Forcing himself to his feet again Ward readied himself for another blow. Only it didn’t come.

The scarred man eyed the specialist, now with curiosity, “Why do you keep fighting? Why don’t you spill your secrets, save your own life? Why don’t you scream?”

Ward only spat blood at the man.

In two steps the man had grabbed Ward by the throat, with ease the specialist was held a good foot of the ground. The man then gave a knowing look, “Unless you can’t.”

Ward struggled against the man’s grip, using what little strength he had left Ward clawed at the man’s hand around his throat.

The smile the man gave Ward was the creepiest thing the specialist had ever seen and he’d seen a lot. Blood even covered the man’s teeth, “So I ask you again, where is my daughter?”

Ward continued to struggle, the man knew he couldn’t yet he continued to ask, what was the point?

The anger grew on the man’s face, “TALK.” He yelled.

“I can’t”

Ward was so shocked at the sound of his own voice that he stopped struggling. In an instant he was flung across the roof, this time Ward didn’t have the strength to get up. A foot pushed him over so that Ward now lay on his back struggling to breath, still in shock over the words that had escaped his own mouth.

The bloody man stood above Ward, he placed a foot on the specialist’s throat, making breathing even harder. The man smiled a bloody grin, “That’s better. Now we can talk. Where. Is. My. Daughter?”

Ward coughed, blood bubbling from his lips, “Go to hell.” He forced out, “Kill me.”

The man looked confused, “You would die for her?”

“A thousand times,” Ward wheezed, “If it kept her safe.”

Suddenly the weight was lifted from Ward’s throat. Forcing himself over onto his stomach Ward spit, coughed and threw up enough blood to fill a bucket. Even without the foot on his throat he struggled to breath. Ward knew he had made a mistake, to rid both his stomach and lungs of blood he had turned his back on a man both willing to and capable of killing him. Trying not to pass out Ward waited for either the killing blow or more questions from the scarred man, but neither came.

As the minutes ticked by Ward wondered why he wasn’t dead. Eventually his arms couldn’t keep his body supported and the specialist fell back to the ground. Again a foot in his side rolled Ward onto his back.

Again the scarred man looked down at Ward, “Do you have a name?”

Ward gave a weak smile, blood still dripping from his mouth, “Yes.”

The man gave Ward an annoyed look, “What is it?” Still finding it hard to breathe Ward wheezed a response, “Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.”

The man actually smiled at Ward’s response, “You can call me Sir.”

Wincing in pain it was Ward’s turn to give an annoyed look, but knew it was the only answer he was going getting, “Ward.”

Sir nodded, “Are you a man of honour, Ward?”

“Trying to be.” Ward replied, wincing again.

Sir gave an amused look, “Would you kill for my daughter? I already know you’re willing to die for her.”

More blood passed Ward’s lips as he coughed, “She wouldn’t want me to.”

“It’s a simple question, Ward.” Sir said glaring down at the specialist, “Faced with letting her die and killing someone to save her would you?”

Ward thought about it for only a second, “I would let the world burn if it meant saving her.”

Sir smiled, “Good. Others will be coming for her. Those who don’t care if she’s alive or dead when they get her. I would prefer she stayed alive.”

“Your minions didn’t care.” Ward spat, trying to force himself to his feet.

Sir shrugged, “I said alive, I never said in one piece.”

Anger surged through Ward, giving him the strength to force himself to his feet, but Sir was faster, stepping out of the specialist’s reach. Ward stumbled when his punch failed to connect but somehow managed to stay on his feet.

Sir only smiled, “Use that anger to protect my daughter and I’ll let you live.”

Ward spat at the man again, “I’m not one of your lackeys.”

“No you’re not, but you’ll protect her anyway because otherwise I will use my ‘lackeys’, as you call them, to bring my daughter to me. You and anyone else who gets in their way will be dead.”

Again Ward winced, both in pain and at the thought of Skye being anywhere near the man that stood before him, “If it keeps you away from her I will do anything.”

Sir smiled, “Good. I’ll be around Ward, do not test me.”

Ward glared at the man as he walked away, leaving the beaten man alone on the roof.

Alone, all Ward wanted to do was collapse on the roof but knew that if he did then he would never get up again. He could barely breath, he could barely stand but still Grant Ward walked. People starred as the bloody man limped through the streets of London, but Ward didn’t care, he had a single destination in mind, the one place in the whole world he felt safe.

It was dark before Ward reached his safe haven, the old building would have been difficult to climb with injuries and during the day time but still Ward forced himself up to the second floor. Forcing the window open Ward collapsed face down on a bedroom floor.

The room’s sole occupant forced the specialist onto his back and before he passed out Grant Ward couldn’t help but think about how pretty Skye looked in the moonlight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for everyone who was worried that Ward would never talk again and asked me to fix him. You’re Welcome, now all you have to worry about is if he’ll wake up *insert evil laugh here*


	17. The Broken Man

When Skye heard her window being forced open she reached for the gun in her night stand. When a figure climbed in and then collapsed on her floor Skye’s first instinct was to run and get May or Coulson but even face down she recognized the man on her floor and she knew that May and Coulson weren’t an option. Placing her gun back in the night stand Skye walked over to the figure on the floor, carefully she rolled him onto his back. Ward looked up at her for a second, almost peacefully, before his eyes closed. For a second Skye worried he was dead, her panic only faded when she found his pulse.

A million questions ran through her head but Skye knew that Ward was in no condition to answer any of them. Quickly coming up with a plan Skye made sure her door was locked and pushed her desk in front of it for good measure. She didn’t want a repeat of Natasha’s lock picking incident, especially with the amount of blood Ward had traipsed into her room, his presence alone would be difficult to explain, the blood would be impossible.

Grabbing a towel Skye lay it out on her bathroom floor. Skye swore when she used all of her strength to force Ward to his feet and drag him into the bathroom, she winced when she all but dropped the specialist onto the towel. Skye’s first step was to remove all of Ward’s bloody clothes, including a tactical vest and combat boots, she dumped everything in the sink to be dealt with later, leaving Ward in only his underwear, if he wasn’t unconscious and possibly dying Skye would have blushed. Using a damp towel Skye cleaned the blood from Ward, using the first aid kit hidden under her sink the hacker bandaged every cut and laceration she could find and Skye found a lot. However from the amount of bruising Skye figured most of Ward’s damage was internal, something she didn’t know how to deal with. Skye could tell the man had a few fractured, if not broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and what she hoped was only a sprained ankle, how he managed to climb up to her second story was beyond her. The amount of bruising across his stomach also worried Skye, Ward had taken a beating and lost.

Without getting a doctor involved there was no way that Skye could tell the extent of Ward’s injuries and Skye wasn’t sure she could even trust Simmons to keep Ward’s presence a secret. No, if Skye needed to know where Ward was hurt she could have to wait for him to wake up and tell her himself. Looking at the bruises that covered Ward’s face Skye wondered IF he would wake up.

Grabbing the blanket from her bed Skye covered Ward, leaving him on the bathroom floor. Then she set about cleaning the blood off her carpet, it was a long job. Between cleaning and checking on Ward, including resetting his shoulder, the sun was starting to rise before Skye gave up. Soon she heard other members of the team getting ready for the day, the banging in the hall suggested that once again Fitz was trying, and failing, to sneak out of Simmons’ room. If it wasn’t for the blood beneath her nails Skye would have found the team’s morning retinue funny.

Giving up on the blood on her floor Skye covered it was a towel, hoping that if someone came in they would just think the hacker was messy, not hiding a blood stain.

Leaving Ward alone in her room for an extended period of time wasn’t an option, so Skye skipped breakfast with the team, instead sneaking down to the kitchen while the rest of the team was in the dining room. She knew that the team would notice both her absence at breakfast and the missing food but it was unlikely that they would jump to the conclusion that Skye was hiding an Ex-HYDRA agent in her room.

Dumping her stolen food on the bed Skye went to check on Ward. She’d spent most of the night making sure the man didn’t chock to death on his own blood, the same blood she’d spent the rest of the night cleaning off her carpet.

Sighing Skye sat next to Ward on the bathroom floor, “Planning on waking up anytime soon?”

There was no response.

“What did you do, Ward?”

Again there was no response.

Standing Skye looked down at Ward, “If you won’t give me answers I’ll have to get them somewhere else.”


	18. The File

Pausing outside Coulson’s door Skye took a deep breath. Again the hacker wondered if getting the information out of Coulson was a good idea or if it was even possible. One slip up and Skye would be explaining the unconscious traitor in her bathroom. Sighing Skye knocked on the office door, she needed answers one way or another. Not waiting for an answer Skye let herself in.

The new director of SHIELD just raised an eyebrow at the hacker’s entrance, “Skye?”

Without invitation Skye sat herself down in the chair across from Coulson, “I need answers A.C.”

Coulson gave her an amused look, then sighed, “I’m sorry, Skye, I don’t have any more answers about your parents than I did before.”

Skye waved a hand dismissively, “Not about them A.C.,” She chose her next words carefully, “I want answers about Ward.”

Coulson looked confused but still he replied, “I don’t know what help I can be.” He looked the hacker in the eyes, “I have no idea where the military took him, where they’re keeping him or how long they plan to keep him for.”

Skye looked at Coulson carefully, wondering if the man was lying, but it didn’t matter. Skye didn’t want to know where Ward was, she already knew.

The hacker shrugged, “I don’t care where he is, I just want to know why he’s there.”

The amused look returned to Coulson’s face, “I wondered how long it would take you to ask.”

Now it was Skye’s turn to be confused, “What made you think I would ask?”

Coulson smiled, “You don’t like unanswered questions and Ward is one big unanswered question.”

Coulson paused briefly before reaching into his desk to pull out a large folder, dropping it on the desk in front of Skye.

Skye raised an eyebrow, “There doesn’t happen to be a computer file?”

Coulson shook his head, “All files were purged from both SHIELD and the internet after the fall of the Triskelion.”

Skye scoffed, “Who thought that was a good idea?”

Coulson shrugged, “Better to be lost than in the hands of certain people,” Picking up the folder he went to put it away, “But if you don’t want this…”

Skye grabbed the folder out of A.C.’s hands and ran out of the room with it. She barely heard Coulson yell after her, “Take your time and you’re welcome.”

“Thanks A.C.,” Was all Skye yelled back.

Getting back to her room in record time Skye made sure her door was locked and barricaded again before dumping Ward’s file on the floor. Briefly checking on Ward, still unconscious on her bathroom floor, Skye made sure he hadn’t bled through her bad bandage job, luckily he hadn’t. Filling a cup with water Skye forced a few drops down Ward’s throat, it wouldn’t do him any good to die of dehydration while the rest of his body healed. Unfortunately, despite being unconscious the specialist managed to cough up half the water. Skye sighed, at least it was no longer laced with blood when it came back up.

Standing Skye looked down at Ward, “I’m not going to be able to hide you forever you know?”

Like earlier, there was no response.

Skye sighed, “That’s what I thought.”

Taking a seat cross legged on the floor Skye opened the file Coulson had given her, but it wasn’t what she was expecting. There was nothing on Ward’s childhood, nothing she didn’t already know anyway. All the very thick file contained was reports on Grant Ward once he joined SHIELD. Skye had to admit that the reports there were very thorough, his marksmen rating, field evaluations and even a couple of physical evaluations but none of this told Skye anything about who Ward was or why he did what he did. Then again if SHIELD could have spotted a HYDRA agent from their paper work none of them would be in this mess.

Sighing, Skye had to admit there was only one place she was going to get the answers she wanted. The one place she’d sworn never to look.

Pulling Ward’s notebook out from under her bed Skye looked it over. If she wanted answers this was the best place to get them. Carefully opening the book Skye began to read.


	19. The Notebook

On the very first page was a letter to Skye;

**_Dear Skye,_ **

**_I don’t know if you’ll ever read this, I hope that you will and that you will understand that I never meant you harm, but I doubt Fury will allow me to contact you or the team._ **

**_A lifetime ago I told you that I wasn’t a good man and you disagreed but you were wrong and in time you came to see that. You didn’t like the real me, you called me a monster and if you had loved someone like me I’m not sure I still could have loved you._ **

**_Coulson asked me to think about who I could be without Garrett and the truth is I don’t know. I don’t know who to be without orders, I’ve followed them all my life, my father’s, my brother’s, Garrett’s and now I’m going to follow Fury’s._ **

**_I don’t know who to be without orders, but one day, if you ever get to read this, I hope to find out who I am without them, who I am with you._ **

**_Like I told you before I am not a good man, the difference is now I’m trying to be one._ **

**_G.W._ **

****

Skye read the letter three times, Ward must have written it just after he started working for Fury. Flicking through the pages Skye noticed that most of the notes were letters, some were to her reading more like diary entries than letters but each one ended the same, he was trying to be a better man, all for her. Every so often there was a letter to another member of the team, Skye would only skim the first line or so, these letters weren’t meant for her. However even reading a single line from each letter made Skye’s ache;

**_May,_ **

**_I’m trying really hard not to hate you at the moment, but I know this is my fault…_ **

****

**_Coulson,_ **

**_I trying to figure out who I am, thanks for the advice…_ **

****

**_Simmons,_ **

****_I don’t where to start with you…_  
  


**_Fitz,_ **

**_I’m currently freezing my ass off in Russia. You’re welcome…_ **

Skye smiled, trust Ward not to start off with I’m sorry. Pausing the hacker wondered what Ward was doing in Russia, none of his letters to her had mentioned it yet he made a point of mentioning it to Fitz. Skye kept flicking, looking for answers and the back of the book she found them. The entries at the back of the book read more like half a conversation than letters. Skye realized that Ward must have used the book for communicating like he had used the cards with her.

The first note was a question;

**_Why would I?_ **

Why would he what, the next entry confused Skye even more;

**_And you’re Red Room._ **

**_Does that answer your question?_ **

It took Skye a while to realize that someone had been questioning Ward’s loyalty. The question was if they were questioning his loyalty to HYDRA or to Fury. Whoever it was Ward told them he was on their side, that much Skye could understand.

Ward had then asked his companion if they had ever been in love and what had happened. The next entry, however, made Skye’s blood run cold;

**_Your ex shot you, twice, and deep down you still love him. Don’t deny it. The girl I love set the Calvary on me, now I can’t talk. Yet all I can think about is seeing her, saying sorry and maybe winning her back. Working with Fury gives me that chance. Working with HYDRA doesn’t._ **

Natasha, Skye thought, Ward had been talking to Natasha, he was the other person she had talked to about her past. Natasha knew that Ward was out of jail and she had said nothing. The hacker kept reading, desperate for more answers;

**_Love means making someone else happy, even at the cost of your own happiness. She may never forgive me, I can live with that but finding this cure for Fitz will make her happy and that’s a start._ **

Fitz’s cure, Ward had helped Natasha get Fitz’s cure out of Russia, that’s why he’d been there, but why only tell Fitz about it, why not mention it in his letters to her. Knowing he helped Fitz would have helped Skye forgive him or at least put her on the road to forgiving him. Skye re-read the entry twice more before she read between the lines, Ward didn’t want forgiveness, and he didn’t think he deserved it. He couldn’t forgive himself so Ward wasn’t looking for forgiveness from anyone else. Ward wanted her to be happy and safe, everything else was second and negotiable, Skye’s happiness wasn’t.

Skye skim read the rest of the conversation with Natasha, they had debated about the cure. Skye was glad to see that Ward didn’t trust Fury and a little worried that it seemed Natasha did. However it was the final entry that stood out to Skye, it told her that Ward’s redemption was possible;

**_No more killing. I’ve done enough._ **

In her hurry Skye almost missed the letter on the last pages of the book, another one to her. From the writing, which was messier than before, she guessed that Ward had written it in a hurry. Most likely when she had been passed out in his bedroom;

**_Skye,_ **

**_I’ve wondered if you would make it this far. That’s of I’ve had the courage to give you this notebook in the first place._ **

**_Fury ordered me not to make contact but with your life in danger I had no choice. You are the only person I’ve ever questioned my orders for. In the instant your life was on the line my orders didn’t matter, only you._ **

**_I’ve decided to ask Fury for the answers I need, not the ones he wants to give me and if he won’t answer my questions I’ll find another way to get answers. What is coming is coming for you and I need answers in order to protect you from it. However in order to fully to protect you, you need to trust me. I know I told you, or will tell you, that I don’t need your trust but the truth is I want it. I want you to be able to trust me again and for that you need the truth, you need to know everything. So here goes…_ **

****

Skye wiped away tears as she read about Ward’s childhood, about his parents, his brothers and sister. She read about military school and burning down his family home and finally about how Garrett found him, broke Ward out of juvie then left him in the woods. Skye read everything and everything made her angry, not at Ward, him she felt sorry for. Skye was angry at everyone else, everyone who had let Ward slip through the cracks, and everyone who had let Garrett get his hands on Ward. Mostly she was angry at herself, angry for not listening to Ward when he’d tried to explain and for letting May beat a man who was already broken.

This time when Skye threw the notebook across the room the anger wasn’t at Ward, it was for Ward.

Leaving the notebook on the floor Skye walked into her bathroom and sat next to the broken man on her floor. Pushing the hair off his face she kissed him on the forehead. Wiping the last of her tears from her face Skye smiled at the sleeping man, “I understand now, Grant,” Skye kissed him again, this time on the lips, “Please don’t leave me now that I understand.”


	20. A Reason

Phil Coulson was worried, none of the team had seen Skye in almost three days, not since he had given her Ward’s file. The team had heard her, she’d sneak down to the kitchen when they were a having a meal or a meeting, Simmons had tried to talk to the hacker but her door was locked and Skye would only give short answers through the door. Natasha had told Coulson about her talk with Skye, he’d known the girl had had feelings for Ward, everyone knew except Skye herself, but Skye had never seemed the type to sleep around to forget a guy. Coulson could believe that she’d gone out drinking to forget her S.O. but going home with some random guy was just a little too farfetched for Coulson to believe. Something had happened, of that Coulson was sure, but wasn’t entirely sure what. Whatever had happened Skye didn’t think she could talk to the team about it and that was what worried Coulson the most, if there was one thing Skye was good it was talking.

Knocking on the hacker’s door Coulson waited for a response. When he didn’t get one he knocked again, “Skye?”

Again there was no response, so he knocked again, “Skye, we need to talk,” Coulson sighed, “We’re worried about you.”

This time Coulson heard shuffling behind the door, almost as if Skye had barricaded the door. Coulson smiled when he heard the door unlock and the hacker pocked her head out.

Skye gave a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, “I’m fine, A.C., there’s nothing to worry about.”

When she went to close the door Coulson put a foot in the way, “You don’t look fine.” It was true, Skye looked like she hadn’t slept in the three days since he’d last seen her and Coulson also got the impression she hadn’t showered in that long either.

Pushing the door against Coulson’s foot Skye tried to close it, “I told you I’m fine. I just need some time alone.”

This time Coulson used his hand to brace the door open, “Is this about the file…”

Anger appeared across Skye’s face, “That file was useless, worse than useless. It had nothing. I needed answers so I had to get them somewhere else.”

With strength Coulson didn’t know she possessed Skye managed to force her door closed, Coulson barely managed to get his hand out of the way in time.

Turning away Coulson sighed, he decided that things could have gone better. Walking up another flight of stairs he knocked on another door. This one opened without pause.

“I take it the talk with Skye didn’t go well.” Melinda May said in way of greeting.

Again Coulson sighed, “I think she’s hacking again, looking for answers on Ward.”

May raised an eyebrow, stepping aside to allow Coulson into her room, “What does she’ll think she’ll find.”

Coulson shrugged, “A reason.”

“She may not find one.”

“Then she’ll keep looking,” Coulson said, taking a seat on May’s bed, “That girl is going to look for something even SHIELD couldn’t find. A reason why Grant Ward was HYDRA, even if it takes her another decade.”

May walked over to her night stand and pulled out a bottle of vodka, “She’s been at it for three days, I don’t think she’ll last another decade.” Pulling two cups out of the night stand she poured both Coulson and herself generous drinks. Passing a cup to Coulson, May sat next to him, “Both you and Skye need to learn that you can’t save everyone, especially from themselves.”

Coulson took a long drink, “I can try.”


	21. The Intervention

Skye had spent the last three days trying not to completely breakdown. She’d tried to sleep but every time she closed her eyes she would see Ward, sometimes as a child suffering at the hands of his brother, other times he was older and at Garrett’s mercy but most of the time Skye just saw him as a bloody mess on her bedroom floor, only this time Ward was dead. Eventually Skye had given up on sleep all together, instead spending her nights caring for a man who shouldn’t be alive.

When Ward had finally stopped bleeding, only a day or so ago, Skye had moved him from her bathroom floor to her bed. Every so often she would curl up on the bed next to Ward, falling asleep to the sound of his breathing. Only to be woken by the nightmares, desperate to check that Ward was still alive. Every time found that he was still breathing she would sigh in relief but there was no chance of going back to sleep.

Finally having the courage to leave Ward’s side for more than a couple of minutes Skye decided to take a long, hot shower, her first in days. At first she couldn’t shower because Ward was passed out on her bathroom floor and then she didn’t want to leave Ward alone for the amount of time it would take to have a proper shower. However Skye had seen the way Coulson had looked at her and if she wanted to convince the team she was fine she would have to act fine. Therefore Skye had to risk leaving Ward alone.

After the shower Skye felt the best she had in days, changing into fresh clothes made her feel even better. Sighing, the hacker set about cleaning up the mess that had appeared in her room over the last three days. The food wrappers were easy to rid herself of but the bloody towels were beyond hope of being fixed, she’d soaked them for the past two days with no luck and there was no way she could get away with sneaking the towels into a load of the teams’ washing as she had snuck Ward’s clothes in with one of Trip’s loads.

Filling almost two garbage bags with rubbish and blood towels Skye made sure the hall way was clear before locking the door behind her and taking the bags down stairs. Outside the back of the old building there was a dumpster and Skye knew the team would have less chance of finding the blood covered towels if the bags went straight outside instead of being left in the kitchen with everyone else’s rubbish.

Unfortunately Skye wasn’t expecting anyone to be in the kitchen when she returned. So to come back in and have FitzSimmons and Trip sitting at the bench, arms folded, was a surprise.

Raising an eyebrow Skye closed the outside door behind her, “Is this some sort of intervention?”

Simmons spoke first, standing she gave the hacker a nervous smile, “We’re worried about you, Skye.”

Then Fitz spoke up, “Yeah, no one’s seen you in three, almost four days. You’re not eating, Coulson seems to think you’re not sleeping,” The engineer smiled, “At least he was wrong about the not showing part.”

Skye crossed her arms, “Just because I’m not eating with the team doesn’t mean I’m not eating. As I told Coulson this morning, I’m fine. I just need some time alone to process certain things.”

Simmons looked worried, “But why now Skye? It’s been five months, why a sudden interest in him now?”

No one needed to voice who ‘him’ was. Skye sighed, she could hardly tell them that her sudden interest in Ward came from the fact he was currently passed out in her room. Skye had tried very hard not to lie to the team over the last few days, instead giving short, vague answers or no answers at all. But if she wanted to get out of this conversation and back to Ward then it was time to tell a lie.

Taking a deep breath Skye sat down at the bench next to Trip, “Look guys, although I haven’t said it out loud, you all know I did something pretty stupid the day we went to the zoo,” The others stayed silent, allowing Skye to continue, “But before I did that I just walked around London, got on and off the underground. The plan was to just loose myself. Somehow I ended up in Greenwich, it kind of reminded me of the last time we were there and about what happened after.”

She paused, giving the others time to realize Skye was talking about the berserker staff, and even if Trip wasn’t there he knew the story.

Simmons nodded, “Ward picked up the staff.”

Skye returned the nod, “He was angry, very angry. About something from his childhood. Ever since then I managed to get snippets about his parents and brothers but Greenwich got me thinking about what Fitz said.”

“People aren’t born evil?” Fitz asked.

“I really want to know what made Ward who he was.” Skye said, sighing she stood up, “Coulson tried to help but SHIELD’s gone and what’s left doesn’t know much. So I’ve spent the last for days digging.”

Finally Trip spoke, “You’ve been hacking.” It wasn’t a question.

Skye shrugged, “I’ve been finding alternative sources of information,” Turning away Skye headed for the door, “Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got some digging to get back to.”

Leaving quickly before anyone could stop her Skye returned to her room, before the other’s decided to come after her. Closing the door, she made sure she locked it. Skye turned around and came face to face with a sight she didn’t expect to see. Grant Ward attempting to get out of bed.


	22. Sorry

Skye was so shocked at seeing Ward awake that for a second she just stood there frozen but when Ward continued to try and stand she was at his side in an instant, barely catching him before he lost his balance.

“Seriously Ward, you should barely be awake let alone walking around. Get back in bed.” Skye scolded, pushing the specialist back into bed.

“Sorry,” Ward whispered.

“That’s alright,” Skye said, then paused realizing what Ward had just done, “Hold on a second. You talked, I thought you couldn’t,” Before she realized what she did, Skye slapped Ward in the back of the head, “You lying son of a …”

“Sorry,” Was all Ward whispered.

“Sorry, what do you have to be sorry for? You’ve obviously had the crap beaten out of you,” More than once, Skye thought but didn’t voice.

Trying to at least sit up, wincing as he did, Ward spoke again, still barely above a whisper, “I’m sorry for everything. For HYDRA, for Garrett, for FitzSimmons, for dragging you into…”

Ward didn’t get to finish his apology, because Skye cut him off with a kiss. A kiss that reminded both of them of the one shared at Providence, before Skye was HYDRA, before everything went wrong. A kiss that screamed of both of their desperation for more.

Eventually both of them needed to come up for air, when they did Skye found herself seated on the bed next to Ward, almost on his lap, hands either side of his face. Pulling away Skye smiled, “I understand.”

Ward suddenly pulled away, letting Skye’s hands drop from his face, “You read the notebook.”

Skye smiled, despite Ward’s actions, “I had to pass the time somehow.”

Ward quickly registered the meaning of her words, “How long have I been out?”

Skye gave him a concerned look, “Almost four days.”

Ward looked surprised, “I’ve been passed out in your room for four days! I’m surprised Coulson didn’t cuff me, in fact I’m surprised he let you help me at all.”

Skye bit her lip, giving Ward a guilty look, “Coulson may not know you’re here.”

Ward gave Skye a doubtful look, “You hid me from the team, for four days and no one noticed anything was wrong?”

“Oh they noticed something was wrong,” Skye laughed, “They just didn’t jump to the conclusion that I was hiding a HYDRA agent in my room.”

Ward cringed, “Ex-HYDRA agent.”

Skye smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek, “And that’s the reason I didn’t tell Coulson you were here.”

Suddenly Skye jumped up off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom, returning a few seconds later with a pile of clothes, which she proceeded to dump them on Ward’s lap, “You’re distracting when you’re shirtless.”

Ward looked down, for the first time realizing he was dressed only in his underwear. He raised an eyebrow at Skye, “Did you have fun taking my clothes off?”

Skye frowned at him, “It would have been more fun if you hadn’t been bleeding to death on my bathroom floor at the time.” She paused, allowing Ward time to pull his clothes on, “Are you going to tell me what happened or are you just going to disappear again?”

Wincing as he pulled his shirt over his head, Ward spoke, “Did you patch me up or did you convince Simmons to help and not tell Coulson?”

Skye crossed her arms, “I patched you up and don’t change the subject, Ward. What happened?”

Ward shrugged, wincing as he moved his shoulder, “I lost a fight.”

“I gathered that much.” Skye sighed, sitting down on the bed next to Ward, “I’m more interested in who did this to you.”

Ward remained silent, looking away from Skye.

Placing one hand on the specialist’s face Skye turned him back to face her, “If you want me to trust you, you need to tell me the truth.” She looked Ward in the eyes, trying to ignore the bruises that still lined his face, “I’m a big girl, Ward. I can protect myself as long as I know what’s coming for us.”

Ward placed a hand over Skye’s, feeling her warmth, “It’s not coming for the team Skye.”

“But you said…”

“It’s coming for you.”


	23. What’s in a Name?

Skye felt her blood run cold. Whatever Ward was protecting the team from, whatever had beaten him to within an inch of his life, was coming for her. She let her hand drop from Ward’s face, the worry was clearly written on her face.

“Hey,” Ward said softly, sitting forward and placing his own hand on Skye’s face, “I will always protect you, from whatever comes.”

Skye pulled away, “Protect me? You can’t even protect yourself.”

“The guy who did this to me is bad news, but…” When Skye went to get up Ward pulled her back down, “But he won’t be coming back. I made sure of that.”

Skye gave him a doubtful look, “I thought you lost the fight,” She traced a finger along a gash on his neck, “It certainly looks like you did.”

Ward caught her hand before it reached his face, he moved her hand and placed it over his heart, “But I’m still alive. If he wanted to kill me he could have, in an instant and without a second thought.”

The worry on Skye’s face only increased, “You’re not making me feel very protected.”

“He let me live, Skye,” Ward said, placing his hand over hers so that they both covered his heart, “For the sole reason that I was willing to die.” He smiled, “Apparently I am a man of honour and as long as I stand between you and him he won’t come back. As long as I’m willing to die for you, you’re safe.”

Again Skye acted without thinking, slapping Ward on the back of the head, then an instant later claimed his lips with her own, only pulling away when she was sure she had his undivided attention. Resting her forehead against Ward’s, Skye held his face in her hands, “Don’t you dare die for me, Grant. I’m not worth your life.”

Ward placed a hand on Skye’s face, “Yes, you are.”

Skye went to kiss him again, only to have Ward pull away. He pulled her hands away from his face. Letting them go Ward lent back against the head board, “Don’t.”

“Grant…” Skye said, reaching for his hand.

“Don’t call me that.” Ward snapped, pulling his hand away.

Anger began to line Skye’s face, “Why not? It’s your name.” Then she paused, crossing her arms, “Unless you lied about that too.”

“I didn’t lie about my name, Skye.” Ward looked away, unwilling to meet Skye’s glare, “I just don’t want you calling me Grant, okay. Ward’s fine.”

Skye’s glare softened, “I’ve called you Grant before, what’s changed?”

“Grant was hope, I don’t want hope,” Finally Ward looked at her, “I don’t deserve hope.”

Skye was confused, “Hope of what?”

“A future.” Was all Ward said.

Skye sat forward, placing a hand on Ward’s, this time he didn’t pull away, “Of course you have a future, Fury let you out for a reason. He believes you have a future and so do I.”

“Not with you.” Ward whispered, Skye barely heard him, he looked away again.

In that instant Skye realized what Ward was willing to do, how far he was willing to go for her. If she called him Ward he was a soldier, a man whose mission it was to protect her. When he was Ward he could watched from a distance as Skye lived her life. But when she called him Grant he wasn’t a soldier, he wasn’t someone who watched from a distance as Skye lived a happy life. When she called him Grant it gave him hope that there was still a future for them together, a future he didn’t think he deserved.

Standing, Skye moved to the other side of the bed and sat down next to Ward. She curled next to him, the same position she’d tried to sleep in, resting her head on his chest, listening to his beating heart. Ward shift, uncomfortable with Skye’s proximity. However she ignored him, if she wanted to get through to the ex-HYDRA agent then she would have to make him uncomfortable. Finally Skye looked up at Ward, placing a hand on his chest, “We’re never going to have the white picket fence, Ward.” She made sure to use his last name, Skye didn’t want him pulling away, “That doesn’t mean we don’t have a future together.”

Suddenly Ward pulled away, rolling out of the bed. For a second Skye worried he wouldn’t be able to stand on his own, but somehow the specialist managed to stay on his feet. Before Skye could react he managed to limp to the bathroom and close the door. Leaving Skye feeling cold and alone in bed.


	24. Happily Ever After

Alone in the bathroom Ward finally got a good look at the damage Sir had done. The bruising around his face was already starting to fade to an ugly yellow, one of the perks of being hit in the face so many times was the fact that he didn’t bruise easily and when he did it healed fast. Pulling his shirt back off Ward looked at the bruises along his stomach, they too were still visible but fading. The bruises on his chest were hidden beneath a bandage that he guessed were holding his ribs in place. There was still some ugly bruises on one shoulder, Ward remembered something about dislocating it at some point but apparently Skye had gotten it back into place without damaging it completely. In fact, looking himself over, Ward decided that Skye had done an excellent job of taking care of him. He could barely remember the condition he had been in after his fight with Sir, but from what Ward did remember it had been bad.

Thinking about it, Ward remembered an inability to breathe properly and the agony walking caused. The more he thought about it the more Ward realized how bad his situation had been, how bad it should still be. He distinctly remembered a rib pressing dangerously close to a lung but as Ward unwrapped the bandage around his chest he realized the rib wasn’t broken, it was probably barely fractured.

The agony Ward had felt when walking through the London streets had suggested to him that his foot or ankle had been broken, most likely in more than one place and yet Ward had been able to walk the length of Skye’s room with barely a limp. In fact if Ward had truly broken his foot he shouldn’t be standing in it, but standing in front of the bathroom mirror Ward realized he was evenly weighted on both feet, he wasn’t even favouring one.

Pulling the lid down Ward used the toilet as a seat, resting his injured ankle on the other knee. He inspected it for damage, there was slight bruising, maybe a little swealing, the usual indications of a sprain but nothing seemed to indicate that the ankle, or the foot for that matter, had ever been broken.

Something was defiantly wrong, he shouldn’t be healing this fast. In the condition Ward had been in he should have needed a hospital, with IV’s and pain medication, a lot of pain medication. He should have needed round the clock care from trained medical professionals and even then it should have been touch and go. Instead Ward had ended up with barely a scratch after spending only four days passed out in a bed with no professional help. From injures he remembered it should have taken Ward weeks to wake up. If he woke up at all.

Sighting Ward stood up and stripped off the rest of his clothes. Turning the shower on Ward stepped inside, he had a sudden need to feel clean. He sensed Sir’s hand in his rapid healing, the man had somehow healed his voice after all. And Ward felt the urge to scrub any last trace of the man away.

Stepping out of the shower Ward felt ten times better than he had stepping in. Quickly drying himself Ward pulled his clothes back on. Unfortunately now Ward had no idea what to do, he’d come into the bathroom to escape Skye and to leave the ‘secret’ base he would have to go past her and Ward doubted Skye would let him pass. He wanted desperately to believe he could have a future, that even the white picket fence was a possibility. But happily ever after wasn’t in his future, it never had been, even before Garrett had entered his life. From the second he understood the world around him Grant Ward had known there would never be a happily ever after, he had accepted it and moved on, until he met Skye. Skye had made him hope for the fairy tale ending, but then HYDRA had come out of the shadows and Garrett had asked him to betray the team, with that order the last thread of hope had disappeared.

Now here Skye was, telling him a future was possible. Ward desperately wanted to believe that she loved him as much as he loved her but deep down he knew that she didn’t, that she couldn’t. He was a monster, he always had been and no matter how much he tried to redeem himself, he always would be. Ward could dream of the happily ever after all he wanted, that didn’t mean it was coming and it defiantly didn’t mean he deserved it.

Ward told him that the reason Skye wanted to be close to him now was pity, she had read the notebook, she had seen the broken man that he truly was. Skye pitied him, he was a wounded animal, something to be fixed and let go, not something to love. This made part of Ward angry, how dare she feel sorry for him. The other part of Ward wanted to take what little love he could get, for however long it lasted. But Ward didn’t want tonight with Skye, he wanted tonight, tomorrow and the day after, he didn’t want her pity now, he wanted her love forever. And if Ward wanted to get even close to forever he would have to tell her the truth. The whole truth. Starting with how he ended up unconscious on her bedroom floor.

Sighing Ward pulled open the bathroom door and came face to face with Skye sitting on the edge of the bed. Her face wasn’t filled with anger or hurt at his sudden departure, only understanding. Ward also noticed there wasn’t a trace of pity either.

Skye smiled when he walked out, she held up a couple of muesli bars, “Thought you might be hungry,” She then shifted so there was space for Ward to sit down next to her.

“Thanks,” Ward gave a half smile, taking both the food and the seat.

When he didn’t start eating right away Skye gave him a worried look, “Are you okay?”

Ward looked at Skye, gathering the courage to have this conversation with the hacker, “We need to talk?”

Skye gave a half smile, “About?”

“Everything.”

Skye laughed, “That may take a while. Where do you want to start?”

Ward took a deep breath, knowing a storm would soon follow, “I should be dead and I think your father was the one who saved me.” He paused, then added, “After he tried to kill me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title lied, I’m evil that way.


	25. Alive

Skye just stared blankly at Ward, not comprehending the words he was saying, “My father?” she asked.

“Yes.” Ward answered.

“Beat you?”

“Yes.”

Skye was starting to get confused, “Then healed you?”

“I think so,” Ward replied, keeping his voice neutral.

“How?”

“No Idea.”

“My father?” Skye asked again.

“Yes.” Was Ward’s only response.

“How do you know?” Skye asked, still confused.

Ward raised an eyebrow, “How do I know what?”

“How do you know he’s my father?” When Ward didn’t answer, instead choosing to find something interesting about his hands, Skye felt anger rising in her, “Or maybe the better question is, how long have you known?”

Suddenly Skye slapped Ward in the back of the head, this time it wasn’t the light tap she had given him earlier, this one was hard. Skye briefly wondered if this is how his family, how Garrett had treated him, but an instant later she didn’t care, it got his attention and Ward looked up at her.

Even though Ward was now looking at her he still didn’t answer, so Skye asked her questions again, “How do you know? And how long have you known?”

“About him? Since you left the Playground but I swear the first time I met him was four days ago.” Ward finally answered.

“How. Do. You. Know?” Skye repeated, letting her anger seep into her words.

“It’s a long story.”

Resisting the urge to hit Ward again Skye replied, “Start talking then.”

Ward sighed, finally taking a bite out of the food Skye had given him, “Look, I was in prison for months before Fury sprang me. When he did the first mission he have me was to help Romanoff secure a cure for Fitz.”

Skye sighed, “I already know this, Ward. I read the damn notebook. Get to the point.”

Ward bit his lip, clearly annoyed at Skye’s interruption, but continued anyway, “My second mission was to track Raina down, that took a while,” He paused and smiled, “Managed to get Quinn while I was looking for her.”

“Is he dead? Did you kill him?” Skye asked quickly, afraid of what the answer might be, especially if Ward smiled at the thought of what he’d done to Quinn.

“I got in a few good punches but no I didn’t kill him,” Ward said shaking his head.

Skye let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. It was a relief to know that Ward hadn’t killed again, even if it was Ian Quinn, “Sorry. Off topic. Continue.”

“Eventually I managed to track Raina to this backwater little town. Only when I found her she wasn’t exactly living.”

Skye sat up straighter, “She was dead, how?”

Ward paused for a second, wondering how to phrase his answer, “Painfully.”

Skye rubbed her eyes, clearly annoyed, “Not that this isn’t interesting and no doubt something I needed to know but what does it have to do with my father?”

“Look,” Ward said, “Point of the matter is I found DNA at Raina’s, that of her killer, it was male and a partial match to yours.”

Skye finally nodded in understanding, “My father?”

Ward just nodded.

“Killed Raina?” Skye added.

“I believe so.” Was all Ward could say.

“Why here? Why now?” Skye asked.

“To be honest I only have theories.” Ward stated.

Skye looked Ward in the eyes, “I’ve been waiting for answers my entire life, Ward. Please, it can’t be worse than I’ve imagined.”

“Skye…” Ward warned.

“Please,” Skye begged, “Whatever the truth is I can handle it.”

Ward nodded, deciding to tell the hacker everything, “When I was with Garrett part of my job was to work with Raina.” He gave a brief look at Skye to see if she was listening, “She had a lot of interest in you, she said your DNA reminded her of a story she heard out of China over twenty years ago,” Skye looked shocked but let Ward continue, “When I was with Fury I managed to get the whole story, at least SHIELD’s version of it.” Ward paused, giving Skye a chance to interrupt, she didn’t so he continued, “I believe, and I’ll point out this is only speculation, that your parents, or at least your father, lost track of you after SHIELD got you out of China. I think Raina contacted him after she left Garrett, told him she’d found you. He’s been tracking you ever since. The men who attacked you worked for him.”

Skye finally responded to Ward’s story, “Those men were willing to do anything to get me to go with them. Are you telling me my father was willing to have me beaten to get his hands on me?”

“I’m sorry,” Was all Ward could say, “but I think in his own way he was protecting you.”

Skye stood up and spun to face Ward, “Protect me? Protect me, Ward? He was willing to hurt me and willing to kill you. What makes you think he was trying to protect me?”

Ward held up his hands, a sign of surrender, “When he saw I was willing to die to protect you he stopped trying to kill me. He warned me that others would be coming for you, people willing to kill. I made a deal, he’d keep his distance if I kept you safe.”

Skye had been pacing, trying to keep calm, but at Ward’s last sentence she spun back to face him, “Made a deal. Made a deal. Ward, I’m not a child. You can’t make deals for my life and especially when you don’t tell me about it.”

Ward stood up, “I am telling you about it, Skye. You can hate me all you want but I don’t care as long as you’re safe.”

“I do hate you,” Skye yelled, not even thinking about the team hearing.

“Good,” Ward yelled back, “I need you to hate me, I’ll do my job better if you do.”

The instant Skye kissed him he wasn’t Grant Ward: traitor. He was Grant Ward: the man who had climbed a building half dead to reach her. As the kiss deepened he wasn’t HYDRA and she wasn’t SHIELD. And when their clothes started to come off and they made their way back to her bed, he wasn’t the man she wanted dead, he was the man she’d fought to keep alive and the man she wanted to feel alive with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that happened. Let me know what you think.


	26. Drinking Buddies

Grant Ward knew he was a coward when he snuck out of Skye’s window while it was still dark. The hacker had still been fast asleep when he had pulled his clothes back on and carefully made his way back down the side of the building. Checking for signs of surveillance, and finding none, Ward started to head back to his own apartment.

Mentally Ward was kicking himself, not only had he spent the night with Skye but he’d snuck out before she’d woken up, even after promising himself he’d try for forever, not a one night stand. However he knew that despite the yelling and the anger expressed during the night neither of them would regret it, despite everything it was what both of them had needed. Ward had briefly wondered about staying until Skye woke up but that would have led to an awkward conversation he was sure neither of them wanted to have, it also would have increased Ward’s chances of getting caught if he had to make the climb down from Skye’s room in day light.

It was defiantly past midnight by the time Ward managed to make it to his apartment. Despite the time he wasn’t surprised when his land lady poked her head out when he closed the front door behind him.

The elderly woman gave him the once over, taking in Ward’s appearance, “Was she pretty?”

Ward smiled and shrugged, remembering at the last second that as far as this woman knew he couldn’t talk.

“Good,” His land lady replied, nodding, “You deserve some fun. You work too hard.” With that she returned to her own apartment, closing the door behind her.

Ward shook his head, holding back the urge to laugh. Despite her age that woman could hear a pin drop a mile away and be able to tell what surface it hit. In her younger years she would have made a great SHIELD agent.

Climbing the stairs to his apartment Ward quickly noticed something was off, he was a perfectionist when it came to security, and so leaving his apartment door ajar was never an option. The open door told Ward the intruder was either a novice, and therefore easy to deal with, or a friend who wanted to give Ward some advance warning of their intrusion, probably so he didn’t react by pulling the trigger. Lucky for whoever was inside Ward didn’t carry a gun, he hadn’t taken one on what was supposed to be a surveillance job, just another reason for Ward to mentally kick himself.

Ward entered the apartment carefully, checking for intruders but making it seem like he hadn’t notice the open door. The intruder was easy to spot for someone of Ward’s training, a civilian would have had a harder time spotting the man in the corner of the room surrounded by shadows. Keeping his back to the intruder, hiding the fact that he had noticed him at all, Ward made his way into the kitchen, he felt the intruder move behind him but still didn’t respond. Reaching into the cupboard Ward pulled out a bottle of scotch and poured two generous glasses.

Taking a sip from one Ward sighed, “If you’re going to shoot me get it over with,” He slide the other glass to the side, “Otherwise join me for a drink.”

Ward expected some reaction and a bullet past his ear was the most likely and logical one, he was not, however, expecting an arrow to lodge itself in the kitchen bench next to the glass of scotch and where his own hand had been seconds ago. Ward was actually surprised enough to jump. This earned a laugh from the intruder, who Ward now spun to face.

Clint Barton looked annoyed, “Fury said you couldn’t talk. Are you telling me I spent my entire trip here learning dirty words in sign language and I don’t even get to use them?”

“I was mute not deaf, Barton,” Ward growled, “And I would appreciate it if Fury continued to think I was.”

Lowing his bow Barton scoffed, “You want me to lie to the world’s greatest liar?” Passing Clint the scotch Ward shrugged, “Not lie exactly, just omit some of the truth.”

Placing the bow on the bench and accepting the drink Clint glared at Ward, “You’ve been spending some quality time with Nat haven’t you?”

Taking a sip of his drink Ward shook his head, “Not the same way you’ve spent quality time with her.”

Taking a longer drink than Ward had. Clint also shook his head, “Agent Romanoff and I haven’t been that close since New York. From what I hear she’s holding out for one of her Red Room instructors who recently defected.” Clint looked at his glass, deciding whether to take another drink or not, “But we both know I’m not here to talk about Nat.”

Ward almost laughed, “I missed a check in with Fury. He probably jumped to the conclusion that I joined back up with HYDRA, then thought I might be dead or too injured to contact him. So he sent you to make sure it was the later and if it was the former make sure it became the later.”

Clint shrugged, “Pretty much. Basically if you were defected or dead I was to take over the surveillance job. If you weren’t I was to find out why you missed a check in and if you are still capable of doing your job. Apparently you are, so care to explain why you missed your last check in?”

Ward took another sip, thinking how to phase his answer without revealing he’d been with Skye. Sighing, Ward shrugged, “One of the people following Coulson’s team caught up with me. I ended up in coma, only just managed to spring myself from an overprotective nurse.”

Clint raised an eyebrow, clearly amused, “A. Was this nurse hot and B. You lost a fight?” Ward was not as amused, “Yes, she was hot, at least by my standards. Yes, I lost a fight and that’s all I’m telling you. I don’t trust you and I don’t trust Fury but at least Fury knows what I am up against. I’ve got a feeling you don’t.”

Putting the glass down, Clint held his hands up in mock defeat, “No I don’t know what you’ve been up against, and Fury didn’t feel the need to tell me. But I have to tell him something when I check in.”

Finishing his drink Ward shrugged again, “Tell him I’ve met the bleeding man.” Seeing Clint’s confused look he added, “Fury will understand.”

Barton shrugged and poured himself another glass, “Whatever.” He then topped Ward’s glass up as well, he raised his own glass in a toast, “To being told half-truths.”

Ward raised his glass, “To telling the half-truths."


	27. Surveillance

Skye had the best night’s sleep she had had in days, maybe the best sleep she’d had in the past five months. So to say she was annoyed to be woken by someone pounding on her door was an understatement.

Skye groaned, “Give me a minute.”

Rolling over Skye realized she was alone in the bed. Although it annoyed her, it didn’t surprise her. In fact she would have been surprised if Ward had actually stayed through the night. The pounding on her bedroom door continued but Skye quickly decided that answering it in her current state of undress wasn’t the best idea. Her and Ward’s activities during the night had been wild, passionate, filled with a desperate need to be close to one another and unfortunately Skye’s clothes had paid the price. Getting out of bed Skye also noticed one of her lamps had also paid the price for her rush to get Ward into bed. The hunt for decent clothes took a while, the first shirt she grabbed was the one she’d worn the night before and it had been torn in their hurry to get it off. Finally finding something decent to wear Skye had a quick look around the room, she gave a brief thought about the fact that someone could have heard her and Ward during the night but then she realized that the only other room on this floor belonged to Fitz and hopefully he’d spent the night in Simmons’ room.

Finally pulling the door open Skye was met by a very annoyed looking Melinda May.

The Calvary looked the hacker up and down before speaking, “Team meeting in five minutes. If you’re not there I’m coming back to carry you down.”

Without another word May turned and walked away, no doubt to tell FitzSimmons they shared the same fate.

Skye closed the door and sighed in relief, grateful it hadn’t been Fitz to complain about the noise or even worse, ask what the noise had been.

Taking three of her five minutes Skye cleaned the room as best she could, picking up her clothes and disposing of the food wrappers that had accumulated during Ward’s stay. She was about to head downstairs when she found the note on the pillow that had been Ward’s.

**_I want to try for forever, but not today._ **

**_This can’t happen again._ **

Turning the note over Skye saw more:

**_He said his name was Sir._ **

Surprisingly neither note made Skye angry, she had expected Ward to do a rapid back pedal after their night together, in fact what surprised her was the fact he admitted he wanted to try got forever. The note about her father was also a pleasant surprise, she had expected Ward to drop the subject completely hoping she would ignore it. Skye took it as a good sign that Ward knew her well enough to know she would want every last bit of information about her family, even something as simple as a name, true or not.

Taking a quick look at the clock Skye ran down stairs, there was no way she was having May come back to her room and threaten to carry her down.

Skye was glad to see that she wasn’t the last member of the team to arrive at the meeting. She wasn’t surprised that it was FitzSimmons that she had beaten, since Fitz had woken up the two of them had had a hard time being apart, in fact Fitz spent more time in Simmons’ room than in his own. Taking a seat Skye ignored the looks that Coulson and May gave her, Coulson’s was one of concern while May’s was her usual impartial stare only it was now directed at Skye. As the clock hit the five minute mark May stood up, only to have Fitz Simmons come running through the door. May raised an eyebrow at the pair’s appearance but said nothing, sitting back down instead. FitzSimmons quickly took their seats, Simmons gave Skye the once over and Skye smiled, which Simmons returned, obviously glad to see that Skye hadn’t skipped another team meeting.

Skye looked at Coulson waiting for him to start, so she was slightly surprised when Natasha was the one who started talking.

“The primary purpose of this meeting is to tell you this base has been compromised.”

Skye’s blood run cold, her thought immediately went to Ward, wondering if he had been caught leaving her room. If anyone noticed Skye’s reaction they said nothing and let Natasha continue.

“Over the last two, three days both Agent May and I have noticed surveillance on both the base and us if we leave it.” She paused, leaving an opening for Trip to comment.

“Any threats?”

Natasha shook her head, “Not to us.”

Skye read the meaning behind the assassin’s words quickly, probably quicker than the others, “But to someone else?”

Natasha bit her lip, obviously debating what to tell the team, “Fury also had surveillance on the team, they’ve missed a check in, and Fury assumes the worst.”

Skye thoughts returned to Ward but didn’t say a word. If Ward wanted to contact the team he would, Skye had decided it wasn’t her secret to tell.

Fitz wasn’t as quiet with his reaction to Natasha’s news, “Fury had surveillance on us. I thought Coulson was director now.”

“Seriously Fitz,” Simmons interrupted, “Someone who has been looking out for us is missing, maybe hurt or dead and your first thought is that they shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”

“Time out,” Coulson interrupted the pair, knowing that they could quickly descend into an argument that could possibly last days, turning to the Black Widow he continued, “Is there anything we can do to help Fury’s surveillance team?”      

Skye tried to hide her worry, if they found out that the surveillance was Ward they wouldn’t be so willing to help. She held back a sigh of relief when Natasha shook her head.

“Fury’s handling it.” Natasha paused, then added, “He’s also recalled me, apparently Stark’s about to do something stupid.”

Coulson obviously held back to comment at the mention of Stark, “We’re also going to move on,” He didn’t wait for comments, “If this base has been comprised then there maybe attacks coming.”

Skye crossed her arms, “So where to next A.C?”

Natasha spoke up first, “Fury suggests…”

“No,” Coulson cut in, “Fitz is right, Fury made me Director. If I’m going to rebuild SHIELD then I’m going to have to stop following Fury’s orders. We’re going to rebuild SHIELD, starting now. Pack your things we leave in an hour.” He didn’t wait for a response. Coulson left the room, followed quickly by May.

FitzSimmons and Trip took Coulson’s departure as a sign to leave as well. Skye also got up to leave but Natasha grabbed her hand, pulling the hacker back, “Can we talk?”

Skye looked at FitzSimmons and Trip as they left the room and she smiled at Simmons, “You missed a button.” The hacker smile widened as both Fitz and Simmons blushed and hurriedly follow Trip out of the room. Skye then turned back to Natasha, “About?”

Natasha looked Skye square in the eye, “How long have you known about the surveillance?”


	28. The Truth

Hiding her surprise Skye didn’t miss a beat, “About two minutes.”

Letting go of Skye’s hand, Natasha crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, “You’re lying. I saw your face when I told everyone about Fury’s team, only you and May didn’t react.”

Skye scoffed, buying herself some time, “So maybe May knew about the surveillance, why not ask her?”

Natasha didn’t look amused, “May was as shocked as the rest of the team, she’s just better at hiding it then the rest of them. Besides I’ve known May for years, if she’d known about Fury’s team she would have said something. So I’ll ask again, how long have you known? The truth this time.”

Skye sighed, “Since I left London Zoo.”

“You didn’t have a one night stand that night did you?” The assassin asked.

Skye shook her head, deciding to tell at least one person the truth, “I was attacked on the way home. He saved me, patched me up, and made sure I was alright. He protected me.”

Natasha looked confused, “He?”

Understanding washed over Skye and she almost laughed, “You don’t know who Fury sent, do you?”

Natasha shook her head, “I’ve learned not to ask. And honestly it didn’t matter who it was, as long as they did their job. But from the look on your face I’m guessing you knew them?”

Skye just nodded.

“Was it Ward?” Natasha asked.

Skye nodded again.

“He was alone? I thought Fury sent a whole team.”

Skye shrugged, “Maybe Fury lied.”

Natasha sighed and sat down, “What do you know?”

“I’d like to think I know everything,” Skye said, sitting across the table from Natasha, “But something tells me I don’t.”

Natasha gave a half smile, “I guess there’s only so much you can write down. Some things need to be actually said out loud.”

“Too bad Ward couldn’t talk.” Skye snapped, “Would have been nice to know. I even think May would want to know her damage was permanent.” If Natasha didn’t know Ward could talk, Skye wasn’t going to tell her.

“It wasn’t my place to tell,” Was all Natasha said.

“So for our entire say here you’ve known someone was following us but you didn’t know it was Ward?” Skye asked.

“Yes,” Natasha said, the she smiled “Did you hit him? I would have.”

Skye gave a small smile, “Multiple times.”

“Do you know about Russia?”

“The cure for Fitz? Sure.” Skye replied.

“Do you know what he did after?” The Black Widow asked.

“Going after Raina? Yes.” Skye answered.

The assassin shrugged, “Then you know more than I do.”

Skye was shocked, “Really?”

Natasha raised an eyebrow, “You sound surprised.”

“I’m just so used to him lying to me that I didn’t expect him to tell me any more than he’s told anyone else.”

Natasha smiled, “He loves you.”

“There’s that word again,” Skye said, “I think we have two different definitions of word love. If he loved me why did he side with Garrett?” It was the question she knew the answer to because she’d read it in the notebook but Skye needed someone to actually tell her that she wasn’t the only one who understand, that her own feelings for Ward weren’t clouding her judgment.

“Speaking from experience when someone rescues you from a crappy childhood, when someone offers you a way out you take it and you follow them, wherever they may lead,” Natasha smiled, “I take it that’s what you wanted to hear.”

Skye shrugged but nodded, “Something like that.”

“Out of interest what happened between you and Ward that night?” Natasha asked.

Skye was glad she didn’t ask about any other night, “I hit him, we talked. Well I talked, he wrote notes.”

“You don’t seem worried that he didn’t check in,” When Skye didn’t respond Natasha continued, “You’ve seen him, haven’t you?”

Skye nodded weakly, “He’s been protecting the team from threats, one of the threats fought back,” she didn’t mention that the threat was her father, “I patched him up, and it took him a while to heal. He missed a check in but he’s alright.” A small lie but not big enough for Natasha to notice.

“So Ward’s alive? He didn’t defect back to HYDRA?”

Skye looked shocked, the thought had never occurred to her over the past few days. After reading the notebook she knew Ward would never go back, he’d never been HYDRA, only Garrett’s. Skye shook her head, “He left last night.”

“He was here?” Surprise evident on the assassin’s face, then understanding, “That’s what’s been up with you, you’ve been hiding him.”

Skye shrugged, “He needed help. He helped me, so I helped him.”

“Glad to know he isn’t dead,” Was all Natasha said.

Neither woman spoke for a minute, until Skye stood up, “I should go pack.”

Natasha nodded, “Sure, I’ll see you around.”

“You could come with us,” Skye said, “You don’t have to go back to Fury.”

Natasha smiled, “Stark’s a friend. If he’s going to do something stupid then I need to help stop him, or at least help clean up the mess.”


	29. City of Light

Paris was busy. Paris was always busy and Ward was getting tired of moving from roof top to roof top in an attempt to keep up with Simmons, Skye and May. The team had arrived in Paris three days ago and it had taken Ward another day to catch up with them because the team was now following their own itinerary and not Fury’s. From what he could tell Simmons and Skye were shopping and May was their security, although in an attempt to blend in May would occasionally have to appear to be shopping. Ward found it almost funny watching the Calvary attempt to be an American tourist in one of the busiest cities in the world.

Every so often Ward would see Skye or May glance around, scanning the crowds, while May was obviously looking for threats Skye’s look was different and Ward secretly hoped that she was searching him, searching for a sign that he was still looking out for her.

Ward had been alone since Hawkeye had left him in London where after a lengthy debate with Fury, in which Ward continued to sign, it was decided that he was more than capable of holding off any threats to the team without help from the archer. Ward had also pointed out that he was less likely to be seen alone and any one sporting arrow wounds would draw too much attention both from the team and from local authorities.

Over the past two days Ward was beginning to regret the decision, in London the team had either stayed together or on base, making Ward’s job relatively easy. However here in Paris the team had split up multiple times and Ward had to decide who the bigger target was, usually it was Skye, in fact it was always Skye. Barton had informed Ward of Romanoff’s surveillance sighting and considering Sir had promised to call his ‘minions’ off Ward worried that the surveillance was those who meant Skye harm, those who wanted her captured, dead or alive.

The roof that Ward was now crouched on gave him a perfect view of the street below, he would have preferred to be at street level but with May around he didn’t want to take any chances.

“Nice view, isn’t it?”

Ward spun to face the voice he had hoped to never hear again, taking a defensive stance Ward eyed the man that had joined him on the roof, “You here to finish the job you started in London?”

Sir chuckled, “If I wanted you dead you would be. I saved your live, you should be grateful.”

Ward gave a small smile but kept his guard up, “You’re the one who almost killed me in the first place.”

“I was protecting my family,” Sir snapped, taking a step forward.

Ward didn’t back down, taking a step forward of his own, “No, I was protecting your family.”

“Which is why I stopped and why I fixed you,” Sir shrugged.

“And you did that how?” Ward asked, generally interested in the answer.

“All you need to know is that I did. The secrets of my family aren’t yours to know,” Sir replied.

This time it was Ward that took the step forward, “If you want me to protect that family then maybe I should know its secrets.”

“Not today.”

Ward was annoyed, “You’re here for a reason, Sir. You said you’d stay away if I protected her, I’m protecting her yet you’re still here.”

“That girl is the last of my family, call me over protective,” Sir replied, holding his ground, “I’m just checking in, I did warn you I would be around. I’m sure you have questions, I’ll answer three.”

Why is it always three, Ward thought, “Why are people coming after Skye?”

The look in Sir’s eyes was one of pain, “Skye, as you call her, is the last of my family. The rest of my family, my other children, were hunted down and killed, they want to finish my family off, and that means taking her out of the picture.”

“That doesn’t answer the question of why, just because she’s your daughter?” Ward asked, in the entire conversation he never let his guard down.

“Not just because of who she is but also what she is.”

“What is she?”

Sir gave a small smile, “Is that your second question?”

“Yes,” Ward said, trying to keep his voice neutral.

“Skye is special, she sees what no one else can. That’s all you need to know,” Sir replied, using a finger to wipe away some blood that managed to drip into his eye.

It was at this moment Ward realized the bleeding man wasn’t bleeding as much as he was the last time they met. Last time he had been bleeding from cuts, head to toe, now he was only bleeding from his hands and face.

Sir narrowed his eyes, taking in Ward’s stare, “Do you have a final question or should I leave you to your protection detail?”

Ward looked down at the street below, barely making out Skye in the crowds, “Who is after her?”

Sir followed Ward’s gaze and sighed, “When they learn what she is everyone will be after her. And I mean everyone.”

“Well,” Ward sighed, finally dropping his guard and rubbing his eyes, “That may make things difficult. Who knows what she is?”

“You’ve used up your questions Ward,” Sir smiled, the smile was creepy and chilled Ward to the bone.

However Ward smiled in return, hiding the fear this man brought out in him, “You want me to protect your daughter then I need to know what I’m protecting her from.”

“You know there are nine realms, yes?” Sir sighed, wiping more blood from eyes.

Ward frowned, “You mean Asgard? Like that.”

“You’re education is lacking boy.” Sir laced his voice with contempt, “But you are correct, Asgard is one of the nine realms. Muspelheim, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, Nifleheim, Svartalfheim, Helheim and your world of Midgard are the others.”

“Thanks for the history lesson, I assume you have a point,” Ward snapped.

Sir took a step forward forcing Ward to put his guard up again. At Ward’s stance Sir smiled creepily again, “Of those words seven hunt me and mine. The Vanir do not hunt their own and you humans do not know of our existence, when you learn you too will join the hunt.”

“Vanir? That’s Vanaheim, right?” Ward asked. “Fury said you were from earth, or at least spent most of your life here.”

“This Fury is not wrong. I have spent the last two hundred years of my life on this planet.” Suddenly Sir smiled at the memory of his life, “I have lived, I have loved and I have lost on this planet. I have a small affinity for this world and its people, my children’s mother was of this world but you will hunt us all the same.”

“You burned a village to the ground in a single night and yet you fear my kind?” Ward smiled, almost laughing.

Anger spread across Sir’s face, “I do not fear your kind, Ward. They fear me.”

“I thought you said we didn’t know what you are.” Ward said, eyeing Sir.

“Some of your kind do. The ones you call SHIELD, HYDRA, SWORD, they all know my kind exist but they do not know of our skills.” Sir took another step forward, this one forced Ward back, “They will hunt us when they learn. Everyone hunts us when they learn what we are and what we can do.”

“What are you? What is Skye?” Ward asked, anger dripping into his voice. He was growing tired of Sir’s games.

“We were once pacifists and healers, now we are monsters and murders. We were once many, now we are two. They want our blood, be it from our beating heart or our rotting corpse.” Sir now eyed Ward, all his pain and anger filling his gaze, “Your job is to make sure my daughter does not succumb to that fate.” He threw Ward an object, “I believe you know what this is.”

Looking at the object in his hand Ward raised an eyebrow, holding back a really sarcastic comment he replied, “Yeah, it’s called a phone. What it’s for?”

“For me to contact you. I have the feeling you do not like these face to face meetings,” Sir smiled.

“Considering how the last one ended, you’re not my favourite person to meet face to face with,” Ward snapped.

“Then we will not meet again, unless absolutely necessary.”

“You trust me now, do you?” Ward smiled.

“I trust that you want to protect my daughter.” Sir shrugged. He then turned and walked away.

“You know you answered more than three questions.” Ward called after him.

Sir didn’t turn around and didn’t respond. He disappeared from the roof quickly, leaving Ward alone on a roof in the middle of Paris.


	30. Those Left Behind

When the team left Paris Ward followed but they didn’t make it easy. After spending nearly a whole month in Paris they moved on quickly from next destination, spending only two nights in the Spanish capital of Madrid. They moved quickly and Ward found it difficult to keep it with them, after Madrid they spent two days in Berlin and then Amsterdam, Ward only arrived in these cities in time to see the team leave. He didn’t even bother to follow team when they stopped in Brussels and then returned to Madrid, only catching up to them when they stopped in Berlin for the second time.

Arriving in Berlin two days after the team Ward noticed that only May and Coulson left the Bus, whether by choice or not Skye, FitzSimmons and Trip remained on the Bus. Following Coulson, Ward quickly discovered that both May and Coulson were going to talk to various higher ups in the German government, no doubt discussing the value of reorganizing SHIELD. Whatever they were discussing it must have been going better than it in the other cities they had visited because they stayed at least a day longer. Coulson did his job very well from Ward’s perspective, the German’s apparently had this thing about glass in their government buildings which made Ward’s job a lot easier. While May stood guard Coulson would meet with an official, he would be polite, shake hands, maybe tell a really bad joke and the real topic of conversation would come up and the mood in the room would shift. The official would suddenly want to leave or change the subject, it seemed that even a receptive government didn’t want discuss SHIELD. Ward wondered if it was partly his fault, if HYDRA hadn’t been hidden deep within SHIELD then maybe governments would be more trusting, then again if HYDRA hadn’t infiltrated SHIELD the organization wouldn’t have fallen in the first place.

After Berlin the team began to move quickly again and no matter where they went, be it Bern, Prague, Vienna or Budapest only May and Coulson were allowed of the Bus. He thought maybe Trip would join them at least once but he never did. He hoped that maybe one day Skye would join them, he desperately wanted to see her, even if he couldn’t talk to her, he needed to know that see that she was okay. Ward managed a brief glimpse of her in Bern, she had run down the ramp as Coulson and May exited the plane but Coulson had quickly sent the hacker back onto the plane, Skye hadn’t taken that well. Bern was one of the cities in which Ward chose not follow May and Coulson to their meeting, choosing instead to keep an eye on the Bus, more importantly keeping an eye on one of the Bus’ occupants.

Every day Ward feared that the phone from Sir would ring and every day that it didn’t he would sigh in relief. He continued to send reports to Fury but the truth was Ward didn’t care anymore, not about Fury and not about Sir, they could order him around all they wanted to, he wasn’t doing this for them, he was doing it for Skye.

Ward tracked the team through Athens, Prague, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo but didn’t follow them there, there was no point, because they would be long gone before he even got there. Ward only managed to catch up with them when they returned to Copenhagen for the second time but only just, they were gone within hours of his arrival. From there the team returned to Paris, but Ward didn’t follow. He caught up with them at their next stop, where he caught his first glimpse of Skye since Bern, in the Eternal City of Rome.


	31. The Eternal City

Skye was sick and tired of travelling, in fact she was just sick and tired in general. The team had barely stopped moving since they had left London almost three months ago. Their first stop had been Paris and Skye had absolutely loved their almost month long stay there. However since Paris the team hadn’t stopped in the same city for more than two nights in a row, they would spend two nights, move on and then eventually find their way back to the first city. The worst part was that they didn’t even get to stay in hotels or even a motel, they were stuck on the bus. What really annoyed Skye was that she was in some of the most beautiful cities in the world and she wasn’t even aloud off the bus to go sightseeing. She had practically ended up on her hands and knees begging Coulson to let her outside when they had a brief stop in the Alps, some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and only May and Coulson got to see it. In fact no matter where they went only May and Coulson got to see it, while everyone else was confined to the bus, they got to talk to all manner of people about SHIELD operating within their borders.

The team was now on day three of their stop in Rome and Skye was desperate to get outside. Coulson and May had left at some unholy hair, before the rest of the team had even thought about getting out of bed, FitzSimmons had locked themselves in the lab on landing, only coming out for necessities in life, like food and the bathroom, which left Skye with Trip. Skye wasn’t sure to act around Trip, it had been easier at the Playground and in London but confined to the bus it was easy to see him as Ward’s replacement, he’d moved into Ward’s bunk and it wasn’t uncommon to find him in the cargo hold with the punching bag. Half the time Skye would hear Trip at the punching bag and head to the cargo hold expecting to see Ward. Skye found herself thinking about Ward a lot lately, with no advance warning of the team’s movements she wondered if he managed to keep up with them. Not that there was much the team needed protecting from, Coulson and May were more than capable of protecting themselves and everyone else was confined to the bus. One of the main reasons Skye wanted off the bus was to search for a sign he was still watching out for her. She’d felt eyes on her when she’d gone shopping in Paris and she’d hoped it had been him but that had been almost three months ago and Skye was desperate to know if he was okay. Which was why Skye found herself in the cargo hold practically begging Trip to let her off the bus.

“Come on, I’ll be back before Coulson even thinks about coming back. They’ll never know I’m gone,” Skye pleaded.

Trip didn’t look amused, “We both know May will smell the lie on both of us the second she steps on the plane. That woman’s worse than a damn blood hound.”

Skye actually smiled at the thought, “That’s if she can smell us over FitzSimmons ‘activities’.” Making quotation marks with her hands, “All I’m asking for is an hour, maybe two, to see something, anything. The Colosseum, The Trivi fountain, The Spanish Steps. Come on Trip, please.”

Now Trip looked slightly amused, “Pick one.”

A smile finally spread across Skye’s face, “Seriously?”

Trip gave a small laugh and shook his head, “Do you think you’re the only one tired of being stuck on this plane. Pick one sight, we’ll both go and be back before FitzSimmons or Coulson figure out we’re gone. We’ll deal with May later.”

Skye was so happy that she actually threw her arms around Trip, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

* * *

 

 Half an hour later Skye was all but skipping through the streets of Rome. It had surprised the hacker to learn that the streets of Rome weren’t exactly easy to navigate, the plan had been to walk around Rome alone, looking for signs of Ward and completing another task she had set herself but it had taken her only a few minutes to be grateful for Trip’s company, she would be completely lost without him. While Skye could still look for Ward with Trip’s constant presence her other task would have to wait, she wanted answers but she didn’t want Trip to see her looking for them.

Despite the heat crowds still flocked to the Trivi fountain and Skye searched those crowds for a sign for her lover but there was just too many people. She had a hard enough time keeping track of Trip let alone find Ward and that was if he was even at ground level, something told Skye that he could be getting a bird’s eye view and if he was Skye had no chance of spotting him.

As Skye moved closer to the fountain she felt the crowds pushing in on her, the more people pushed the worse she began to feel. Sky had never liked crowds but today was different, it was scorching hot and the crowds just added to the heat. Skye knew something was wrong when things started to go fuzzy, she had a sudden need to sit down, to lie down. Trip must have noticed something was wrong because he grabbed her arm and began to lead her out of the crowd. Skye knew Trip was saying something but she couldn’t concentrate enough to hear him or even see his mouth moving. Things were getting fuzzier and she was starting to feel very dizzy. Skye could feel herself being lead out of the crowd, but it was almost like she wasn’t in her body, that her movement weren’t her own. Trip was leading her towards somewhere she could sit down but Skye never made it, the ground came rushing towards her and everything went black.


	32. Secrets to Tell

The pounding head ache was the first thing Skye felt when she woke up. Then came the voices.

“She’ll be fine, just a little dehydrated that’s all,” That was Simmons. With the fog still swirling around her brain it took Skye a couple of seconds to realize the doctor was talking about her, “I’ll let you all know when she wakes up.”

Skye heard murmured responses, no doubt the tea, complaining about being kicked out of the room. Hearing the door close Skye opened her eyes, blinking at the sudden bright light. She recognized the lab almost instantly and briefly wondered how she got there. The last thing she remembered was feeling dizzy and then everything went black. Trip must have carried her back to the bus, so much for Coulson never knowing about their outing.

Pulling a hand up to her head, Skye groaned when she noticed the IV in the back of her hand.

Simmons turned around at the sound of the groan and Skye attempting to sit up, she was at the hacker’s side in an instant, pushing her back down, “You need to lie back down Skye. You need rest and you need water.”

“And you’re a horrible liar Simmons,” Skye groaned, still attempting to sit up.

“I’m not lying, Skye,” Simmons snapped, “You need rest and you need water.” Passing the hacker a cup of water and allowing her to sit up a little.

Skye took a sip and glared at Simmons, “We both know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

Simmons eyed Skye, “How long have you known?”

Skye suddenly looked away, no longer meeting the biochemist’s gaze, “I didn’t.” She sighed, “Not for sure anyway.”

“Skye…” Simmons said, her gaze softening.

“Don’t,” Skye replied, shaking her head, “I’m a big girl, Simmons, I don’t need a lecture.”

Simmons gave a weak smile, “Apparently you do.”

Skye rubbed her eyes, “Can we talk about this another time? Preferably when I don’t have a pounding headache.”

But Simmons didn’t drop the subject, “Skye we need to talk about this and you need to tell the others. At least tell Coulson, if you want I can tell him…”

Skye grabbed the biochemist’s hand, “Don’t you dare. If you tell him, or any of them, even Fitz, I will never speak to you again. Understand?”

“Skye…” Simmons sighed, worry etched on her face.

Skye tightened her grip on Simmons, “No, I will tell them when I’m ready. Don’t say a word, understand?”

Simmons sighed again but nodded, “Fine, but if something like this happens again I’ll have no choice but to tell them.” She then gave a half smile, “And it wasn’t a complete lie, you do need rest.”

Skye nodded, taking another sip of water, “How much trouble am I in? A.C. must be angry.”

Simmons shook her head, “Coulson’s not angry,” She paused for a second, “At least not with you.”

“How much trouble is Trip in?” Skye asked, burying her head in her hands.

Simmons put a hand on the hacker’s shoulder, “He’ll be fine. Coulson’s angry that you got hurt but it will pass.”

“None of this would have happened if he had allowed us to leave the bus,” Skye replied, bitterness seeping into her voice.

Simmons just shrugged, “That may be so but that doesn’t change the fact that it happened.”

Suddenly Skye sat up straighter, pulling the blanket off her legs and attempted to stand, “I need to see A.C., tell him it was my idea. That I talked Trip into going outside…”

Simmons reacted quickly, catching Skye as she stumbled, “Oh, no you don’t. You need rest.”

“You really expect me to get rest in here,” Skye replied, waving an arm around the lab.

Simmons nodded in understanding, “Fine, I’ll walk you to your bank. If you promise to get some rest.”

Skye smiled, “And if we happen to walk past the team…?”

Simmons gave a small laugh as she helped remove Skye’s IV tube, “Then you can talk to Coulson on your way to bed.”

Skye leaned heavily on Simmons as the two women made their way out of the lab, through the cargo hold and up the stairs.

The two of them heard Coulson before they saw him and he didn’t sound happy. Turning into the lounge area Skye took in the scene before her, Coulson and Trip were the only ones standing while May and Fitz remained seated, Fitz had somehow wedged himself in the very corner of the small room, as far away from the yelling as he could possibly get without leaving the room.

“Did you honestly think we wouldn’t find out? You live a plane full of spies for goodness sake.” Coulson yelled, directing his anger at Trip.

“Whoa, time out here boys,” Skye interrupted, pushing into the room. Without Simmons’ support the hacker stumbled.

Coulson was the closest and managed to catch Skye before she fell, helping her into one of the lounge’s chairs. He turned to Simmons, “What is she doing out of the lab?”

Simmons gave him a guilty look, “I promised to let her rest in her bunk.”

“Right here you know,” Skye interrupted, “Besides what’s the point of me being down there when you’re all up here. Especially when you’re arguing about something that’s my fault.”

Trip sat on the seat next to Skye, “I was the one who took you out. If we hadn’t left the bus…”

“It was my idea, Trip,” Skye interrupted again, “I was the one who wanted to go outside and I was the one that didn’t drink enough water.” She gave a weak smile, “I’m a big girl and I can take responsibility for my own actions.”

Now standing behind Coulson Simmons raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Skye registered Simmons’ look but said nothing about it, she instead turned to face Trip, “Besides if we should blame anyone it should be Coulson?”

“What?” Coulson said, shock on his face, “What did I do?”

“You trapped us on this plane for months,” Skye replied, now looking at Coulson, “If you had let us off, even once, we wouldn’t have had to sneak out.” She sighed, “We wanted out for an hour, just one measly house, A.C. Was that so much to ask for?”

“I agree with Skye,” Fitz said, speaking for the first time from his place in the corner of the room, “It would be nice to get of this bloody plane, even for an hour.”

Coulson looked around at the team, both Simmons and Trip nodded in agreement with Fitz and Skye, even May look like she agreement with them and she was the only other one that had been off the bus in the past two months. He frowned, “You want a day off the plane?”

“It would be nice,” Simmons said. Fitz nodded eagerly.

“I can’t give you a day,” Coulson replied, the team looked disappointed so he added, “But I can give you an evening.”

Even May gave a small smile.

“Seriously?” Skye said, a smile appearing on her worn face.

Coulson sighed and looked at his watch, “It’s almost two now,” He looked at Skye, “If you promise to get a couple hours rest, keep hydrated and listen to Simmons’ every order than I will take you and the rest of the team out to dinner.” He looked around at the team, “Is everyone okay with that?”

Trip and May nodded, while Fitz and Simmons both smiled eagerly.

Fitz was the first to speak out, “We can have Italian food in Italy?”

“I think it’s just called food here Fitz,” Skye smiled, then turned to face Coulson, “I think you’ve got yourself a deal A.C.” She then faced Simmons, “So you mind helping me to bed, if I’m going to get some rest I would rather it was in my bunk than back in the lab.”

Simmons nodded and helped Skye to her feet. The hacker looked tired but Simmons said nothing, it wasn’t her secret to tell.


	33. A Night Out

The restaurant was crowded and Skye immediately felt the world closing in again. She tried her best to hide it, no reason to give Coulson any ideas that there was something besides dehydration going on.

Unfortunately Simmons did notice something was up and grabbed the hacker’s arm as the team made their way to a table in the corner of the room, “Are you alright? You’re looking a little pale, do you want to go back to the bus?”

Skye pulled her arm away, hoping the team didn’t notice Simmons’ concern, “I’m fine, just drop it okay.”

Simmons glared but nodded, “Fine, I’ll drop it. For now.”

Skye returned the glare but said nothing as the team took their seats.

Both girls quickly buried their faces in their menus, now even the clueless Fitz could tell something was up between them but the team wisely decided not to point out the conflict between the hacker and the biochemist.

The tension between the two girls defused slightly once food began to arrive. Although Coulson noticed that every so often a look would pass between the girls, Simmons’ was one of concern while Skye’s screamed ‘drop it’. Obviously there was more to what had happened this morning the either girl was willing to admit and from Simmons’ glare she didn’t want Skye to go out again after her little adventure with Trip but had been unable to convince the hacker that staying in was a good idea. In fact Simmons’ concern just added to Coulson’s but he kept it to himself. He’d learned from experience that if either girl wanted to talk to him then they would and pushing them would mean those glares would turn on him. So Coulson wasn’t going to push it, not today anyway. No, today he was going to enjoy a good meal with friends.

Skye could feel Coulson’s stare join Simmons’ as the waiters cleared away the remains of dinner, no doubt noticing her barely touched food. As they waited for dessert a silence settled over the team, one that Skye found strangely unnerving. She wondered if the silence was Simmons and Coulson’s way of giving her an opening to tell them what was wrong but Skye didn’t take it, today wasn’t the day to tell them. Skye wondered if any day would be. She didn’t want to lie to them but Skye wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to tell them the whole truth either, because the whole truth meant telling them about Ward and they weren’t ready for that. Not yet.

It was Fitz who took the silence as a sign to start talking. No one was surprised when his topic of choice was monkeys. However the second the word monkey was mentioned Skye stopped listening.

Despite having eaten very little Skye felt horrible. She wondered if she should have stayed on the bus after all, her head still hurt and she now had the urge to throw up. Standing carefully Skye hid her unease from the team, excusing herself she headed for the bathroom, barely making it inside before she emptied her stomach into the toilet. Skye heard someone follow her into the bathroom and lock the door behind them. She felt them pull her hair back and she continued to empty what was left in her stomach into the toilet.

Finally finishing, Skye sighed and stoop up, turning to face the person who had followed her into the bathroom. Expecting Simmons Skye was shocked to see it was Ward that had joined her.

He passed her some paper towel to clean her face with and gave a small smile, “I’d ask how you’ve been but from the looks of things…”

Skye slapped Ward. Hard, “Where have you been? Three freakin’ months Ward. It’s been three freakin’ months and not a word.”

Ward’s small smile disappeared, “I told you what happened that night couldn’t happen again.”

“Just because I wanted to see you again doesn’t mean I wanted to sleep with you,” Skye hissed, not wanting to raise her voice in case someone outside the bathroom heard her, “I just needed to know you were okay.” She paused, then continued, “And maybe talk some more.”

Ward sighed, “If it’s worth anything I wanted to see you too.” His small smile returned, “But you kept moving. Sometimes you were long gone by the time I got to where you’d been and even when I did catch up and you hadn’t moved on you weren’t allowed off the Bus. And just so you know it’s only been two and a half months, believe me I’ve been counting.”

Wiping her face, Skye threw the paper towel in the bin next to the sink, “So why make contact now? You could have moved on. Why check on my now?”

Ward took a step forward, placing a hand on Skye’s cheek, “I was worried about you. I needed to know you were okay.”

Skye tilted her head, feeling Ward’s hand against her cheek and sighed, “You followed me today, didn’t you?”

Ward smiled, “I always follow you.”

Skye smiled warmly, “What about May and Coulson? Don’t you need to follow them?”

Ward lent forward, resting his forehead against Skye’s, “May and Coulson aren’t the target. We both know that.”

Skye pulled Ward closer, “You worry about me too much.” Without a second thought she kissed him, this one didn’t start off slow, it was passionate from the start. Skye poured two and half months of pent up anger and passion into the kiss. She felt Ward’s hands tangled in her hair as she pushed him against the bathroom wall. However when her hands began to wonder under his shirt Ward pulled away.

“Skye…” Ward warned, “We shouldn’t…We can’t.”

“Why not?” Skye wined, “I want to. You want to. What’s the problem?”

“Skye…” Ward warned again.

“I’m sorry,” Skye said, pulling away and sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, “It’s these stupid hormones that keep messing with me.”

“Hormones?” Ward asked, squatting down to Skye’s level, “Skye are you…?”

“Yes,” Skye snapped, looking at Ward, anger now lined her face, “Yes I’m pregnant. Yes it’s yours and no, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”


	34. Honesty

Ward had actually found Trip and Skye sneaking out of the Bus amusing, he had to supress a smile when the hacker had all but skipped through the streets of Rome. He hadn’t seen her that happy in a long time. In fact he’d barely seen her at all since the team had left Paris, it seemed that only May and Coulson were allowed to leave the Bus. Grant Ward had actually felt something close to happiness at the wonder on Skye’s face as she explored the Eternal City but the happiness had turned to terror when he saw Skye collapse near the Trivi fountain and couldn’t do a thing about it. He had followed Trip as he carried Skye back to the Bus. It took all of Ward’s self-control not to run aboard the plane and demand answers, but he knew he would be shot on sight, the team would no doubt be extra jumpy considering Skye’s condition. However that still didn’t diminish Ward’s need for answers. So a couple of hours later when the entire team left the bus he followed them, he was somewhat surprised that Skye joined the team in their outing but he was secretly glad. It would be easier to get answers from her on the ground than if she remained on the Bus.

Ward had been surprised when the team had headed to a restaurant. Maybe Coulson was finally giving the team some down time. He had to admit they had chosen their location well, from where the team was seated they could see the entirety of the restaurant, there was no way Ward was going to be able to observe them from inside the place without being spotted by at least one team member. So he sat at the bar across the road nursing a whiskey while watching the team from a distance.

When he saw Skye get up and none of the team made a move to follow Ward knew this was his chance to get some answers. Ward knew she would be in the bathroom, what he wasn’t expecting was to find Skye retching into the toilet. Ward locked the door and was behind her in seconds, keeping her hair out of her face. When Skye finished he let go of her hair and grabbed some paper towel for her.

When Skye turned around and saw him Ward expected the slap, he’d even expected the demand for an explanation for his absence. Ward had not, however, expected the kiss. Skye had said she didn’t want a repeat of their night together but the way she had him pinned against the bathroom wall suggested otherwise. He both felt and shared Skye’s passion but when her hand began to find its way beneath his shirt Ward knew he had to stop. The team was right outside and could come looking for Skye at any moment and Ward defiantly didn’t want the team to literally catch him with his pants down. Pulling away he could see the hurt in Skye’s eyes and that look alone had almost pulled him back into a kiss.

When Skye had pulled away Ward knew something was wrong. When she slid down the wall and told him it was hormones Ward knew exactly what was wrong, although he could barely form the question to ask her. Skye answered his question and two others she knew he was bound to ask her before Ward even finished his sentence.

Sitting down on the floor next to Sky Ward honestly had no idea how to respond to Skye’s outburst. He decided that the safest option was to stay silent, knowing his luck Ward was bound to say the wrong this and make the hacker even angrier.

Unfortunately staying silent was the wrong choice. Sky turned to him, anger still lining her face, “Do you seriously have nothing to say?”

Ward shrugged, “What do you want me say Skye? How do you honestly want me to react because I seriously have no idea?”

Skye blinked a few times, taking in Ward’s words. Then she sighed, the anger draining away from her face, “Honestly I have no idea either. I didn’t know if you would be angry…”

Ward interrupted her, “Why would I be angry? It takes two people to make a kid, Skye. I don’t blame you. I would never be angry with you. But I can understand if you’re angry with me. I mean I wasn’t exactly safe and…”

“God, Ward just stop,” Skye cut him off, “Like you said it takes two to make a kid and neither of us were exactly safe. I’ve already got Simmons’ lecture to look forward to, so if we could just drop the subject that would be great.”

“Simmons knows?” Ward asked, “What about the rest of the team? And how did you explain it? Immaculate conception?”

Skye gave a small smile at Ward’s joke, “Only Simmons knows, she found out today when I collapsed. And as for how, the team know I had a one night stand in London.”

Ward smiled, “Just not with me?”

“That night I was attacked, they think I got drunk and fooled around with some random guy to forget about you,” Skye actually smiled at the memory.

Ward looked doubtful, “That’s what you told them?”

“God, no,” Skye laughed, “It’s just the conclusion they jumped to when I walked in at dawn, hair and clothes a mess.”

Ward gave a weak smile, “I guess it saves you from having to explain who the father is.”

“Grant…” Skye replied, sensing the bitterness in his voice, “If you want to go outside right now and tell them I’m pregnant with your kid, I’ll let you. If want to come back to the team to be with me and this kid, I will beg Coulson to let you come back. And if want to be a part of this kid’s life, I will let you,” She sighed, “But something tells me you’re not ready for that step, at least not yet. And until you’re ready to tell the team you’re this kid’s father I won’t.”

Ward stoop up, no longer having the courage to look at Skye, “Skye, we both know this kid is better off without me. Maybe it’s just better that neither the kid nor the team find out about me.”

Skye jumped up and pulled Ward around to face her, “Don’t you dare, Grant Ward. I’m not having any more of this self-pity crap. So you were HYDRA, then again you weren’t even that, you were just Garrett’s bitch.” Ward flinched but let Skye continue, “So what? You keep telling me you want to change, this kid is your chance. It’s both our chances. We’ve both had pretty lousy lives up until now, Grant and this is our chance to give someone the life we never had. As someone who spent their whole life searching for answers about their parents I’m not going to lie to this kid.”

Ward still wouldn’t meet Skye’s gaze but at least he was listening to her. He was about to say something when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

Panic appeared across Skye’s face but it faded as she took a deep breath before she spoke, “I’m fine. I’ll just be a second.” She then turned back to Ward and whispered, “We’ll pick this up later.”

Ward just nodded weakly and moved so that when the door opened, and Skye stepped out, he was behind it and remained unseen by May.

When the door closed Ward briefly heard May ask Skye if she was okay but the pair moved away before he hear Skye’s response. Taking a deep breath Ward snuck out of the bathroom and back out to the bar across the street. He really needed a drink.


	35. Solid Ground

Emptying her stomach content into the Bus’ only toilet for the third day in a row Skye wondered how she had hidden her pregnancy from the team for so long. She had suspected she was pregnant since Switzerland, she’d felt horrible, constantly tired and certain things had been missed. However when the team had stopped in Copenhagen for the first time, a week before they arrived in Rome, Skye had realized her clothes were tighter across her chest, in fact Skye was surprised that Simmons hadn’t noticed back then but Skye herself didn’t know for sure until her talk with Simmons in Rome. The team had left Rome almost a week ago and Skye was still gathering the courage to tell Coulson the truth, some of it at least.

Cleaning herself up Skye exited the bathroom only to come face to face with Simmons.

The biochemist did not look amused as she took in Skye’s appearance, “Lab. Now.”

“I’m fine, Simmons, just leave me alone,” Skye groaned.

“Lab. Now. Or I tell Coulson,” Simmons snapped.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Skye growled.

“Watch me,” Simmons warned, then her face softened, “I just want to check you’re both okay, that’s all.”

“We’re fine,” Skye snapped, looking around to see if any other member of the team was close enough to hear them, luckily May was in the cockpit, Coulson was in his office, Trip was in the cargo hold and Fitz wasn’t in sight.

Simmons sighed, “Skye you’re pushing twelve weeks, I just want to make sure everything’s going smoothly.”

Skye didn’t dare correct Simmons’ timeline, she rubbed a hand along her stomach, worry now etched on the hacker’s face, “You don’t think anything’s wrong do you?”

Simmons’ gaze softened even more, “No, Skye, I just want to be sure. You want to make sure your baby’s okay, don’t you?” When Skye nodded weakly Simmons gave her a weak smile, “Then let’s go to the lab and check everything’s okay then.”

Skye nodded weakly again and allowed Simmons to lead her to the lab.

In the lab Simmons ran her tests but Skye absolutely refused to let her to an ultrasound.

“Don’t you want to see your baby, Skye?” Simmons asked, “It doesn’t hurt and it won’t take long.”

Skye shook her head, “We’re in a glass room Simmons, the team might see. It’s one thing to see me being poked and prodded by you, that I could explain, but it’s another thing entirely having an ultrasound.”

Simmons sighed and looked at the hacker seated on the table, “You can’t hide it forever, Skye. You’re going to start showing soon and then what are you going to do?”

“One of the girls at the orphanage managed to hide hers from the nuns for almost seven months,” Skye shrugged, “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.” Jumping off the table she stumbled as the world around her began to spin.

Simmons moved quickly, helping the hack back onto the table and pressed a bottle of water into her hand, “Drink,” Simmons instructed, “It’s the altitude, and it’s just dizzy spells for now but by five months you shouldn’t be flying at all.” Helping the hacker to her feet Simmons sighed, “If you haven’t told Coulson by then, or her hasn’t figured it out, I will tell him.” 

* * *

 

 Skye stood outside Coulson’s office for a full ten minutes before gathering the courage to knock, even then it took all of her courage not to run back to her bunk and lock the door.

Coulson’s voice came through the door, “Come on in, Skye.” From his tone Skye knew she had no choice but to enter the office.

Skye gave a weak smile as she entered the office and took a seat opposite Coulson, “how’d you know it was me?”  
“Something’s been going on between you and Simmons this week,” Coulson sighed, “I figured it was one of you coming to tell me what’s going on. It was a higher probability that it was you or Simmons coming to talk to me then someone else on the Bus. So I took a stab in the dark that it was you.”

Skye looked doubtful, “You looked at the camera feed, didn’t you?”

Coulson smiled, “You were standing there for a while, everything okay?”

Skye nodded, “With me and Simmons? Yeah. We’re working it out.”

Now it was Coulson’s turn to look doubtful, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Skye did want to talk about it, she desperately wanted to tell Coulson she was pregnant, to talk to someone other Simmons but she knew that if she told him today she would tell him everything, including Ward. So instead she gave Coulson a smile, “Not today A.C.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow but didn’t push the matter, “So if you’re not here to talk about Simmons, what are you here to talk about?”

Skye shifted in her seat before looking at Coulson, “I had an idea.”

“Dangerous,” Coulson smiled, when Skye returned the smile he continued, “But let’s hear it anyway.”

Skye sighed, “We need to stop running A.C. We’ve visited as least fourteen countries in the last three months and we’re still in the same position we were in when we started.”

“We’re not running from anything, Skye.”  
“But we’re not running to anything either A.C.,” Skye replied, “Instead of telling these governments we can still help we should be showing them.”

Coulson actually looked interested, “And how do you propose we do that?”  
“Base ourselves somewhere, one of Fury’s secret bases, I don’t know,” Skye shrugged, “Then we do what we do best.”

Coulson lent forward, “And what’s that?”

“I hack, find people who need our help. Trip, May and you go in and actually help them. While FitzSimmons do their science thing,” Skye replied, leaning on Coulson’s desk, “If we start showing the world that we can help maybe they will start letting us.”

Coulson remained silent, hopefully thinking over Skye’s proposal. The silence gave Skye some time to think. After her talk with Simmons Skye knew that both her and her child were safer on the ground and if she wasn’t willing to tell Coulson the truth yet she had to find another way to get herself on solid ground again. Skye felt horrible lying to Coulson but being on the ground would give Ward a chance to catch up with them and Skye could find him they could talk and she could finally find out where they stood.

Coulson had remained silent for almost a full minute and Skye began to back pedal rapidly, “I mean it’s just an idea, we don’t have to…”

“No,” Coulson interrupted, “It’s a good idea. I’m just annoyed I didn’t think of it myself.”

“You can’t think of everything,” Skye smiled, “That’s why you have the rest of us, so you don’t have to.”

Coulson returned the hacker’s smile, “How soon can you find us a suitable base?”

Skye pulled a USB out of her pocket and slid it across Coulson’s desk, “I made a short list before I came in. I thought you might want the final say.”

Coulson picked up the device and nodded, “I’ll take a look.”

Skye stood up, “I’ll leave you to it then.”

“Thanks for the idea,” Coulson replied.

Opening the office door, Skye turned back to Coulson, “Anytime, A.C. Anytime.”

Before she left Coulson called after her, “I’m here when you’re ready to talk.”

Skye just nodded and left the office. Quickly heading back to her bunk, Skye closed and locked her door behind her. Laying on her bed she placed a hand on her still flat stomach, “Next step is telling the team about you and then convincing your father to come home,” Skye gave a small smile at thought, “I’ve just haven’t decided which is the easiest job yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS!!!


	36. Isolation

After seeing Skye in Rome Ward spent the next few days wondering what to do with his life. Before seeing Skye, before hearing her news, he had a clear purpose and that was to protect her, even if it was from a distance. Only now Ward didn’t want to keep his distance, ever since Skye told him she was pregnant he wanted nothing more than to be with her and their child. Grant Ward had never thought of himself as a father, he wasn’t lying when he told Skye that the kid would be better off not knowing him. Every part of him was screaming to run away, to save the kid from his own inner demons.

After the team’s night out they had returned to the Bus and Ward hadn’t had a chance to see Skye again before the team had left Rome. Once again only May and Coulson left the plane when they stopped in Athens and Bern and Ward used this time to think. He honestly had no idea what to do, Skye was offering him the future he wanted, and she was actually offering to let him be a part of their child’s life. She wasn’t running and she wasn’t hiding. Skye actually believed he could be a good influence, the only problem was that Ward didn’t believe he could be.

Ward was still contemplating his future with Skye when he lost track of the team. It took him almost three days to realize they were no longer in Europe. It took another two days and half a dozen communications with Fury to track them to the other side of the world.

Three plane trips and a stolen car later Ward arrived in a small Australian town near where Coulson was now based. Staying in the town was not an option, despite being the closest town to the base it was still too far away for Ward to keep an eye on the team. More importantly it was too far away for him to keep an eye on Skye.

The base Coulson had chosen was in the middle of nowhere, to the outside observer it was just another farm. From the outside there was one single story building, a farm house. However from Fury’s reports Ward knew that it contained an underground facility more than capable of helping Coulson rebuild SHIELD. Instead of basing himself in the town Ward chose to base himself closer to the team, however the base’s isolation meant he wouldn’t be staying inside. The base was surrounded by fields, almost a kilometre behind the house lay a river, and the river was surrounded by trees that allowed Ward to set up camp unseen by the team but still able to keep an eye on them. There were several trees that when Ward climbed her could see the base, unfortunately that was as close as he could get. The fields surrounding the base only had low lying shrubs and plants, nowhere near enough cover for Ward to approach the base unseen.

From his hidden position Ward watched the team, more importantly he watched Skye. Ward wanted to be there for her, especially when he saw the effect the pregnancy was having on the hacker. Ward assumed that Skye was yet to tell the team about her condition because every day Skye would sneak off the base and head out of sight of the house just in time to be sick. It was obvious from the effort she was putting into hiding her morning sickness that she still hadn’t told the team.

Sometimes Simmons, Skye and Fitz would leave the house and explore the surrounding fields. Mostly it was Fitz and Simmons together, Ward tended not to follow them when they went off on their own, he knew exactly what those two were doing although he wished he didn’t. When it was Skye and Simmons that went exploring the tone was very different, although Ward couldn’t hear what the two women were saying he could tell that the two of them were arguing and it didn’t take Ward long to figure out what it was about. It was after one of these arguments that Ward watched Skye storm off. Skye ventured further from the house then she ever had and it didn’t take Ward long to realize Skye was heading straight for his location. Untying himself from his fixed position in the trees Ward repelled down to the ground, untangling himself from his equipment the specialist hurried back to his camp, barely making it back before Skye literally stumbled into it.

Catching the hacker before she hit the ground, Ward smiled when she wrapped her arms around him, “Nice to see you too Skye.”

Skye smiled against his chest, “I’ve missed you Robot.”

Ward’s smile widened at the old nickname, he hadn’t realized he had missed it until then, “I’ve missed you too,” He dropped his arms and took a step back so he could see Skye, “But I think it’s time we talked.”


	37. Close Quarters

Skye wasn’t entirely sure of the new base when they first arrived, the part of it dedicated to SHIELD was impressive. An entire underground base that fit the Bus and still had room to spare, not to mention the labs that FitzSimmons practically drooled over. However the living quarters weren’t as spacious. In fact Skye found herself sharing a room with Simmons, while Fitz and Trip also shared, Coulson managed to get a room all to himself and May remained on the Bus, absolutely refusing to sleep on the sofa bed in the common area. Coulson had offered to share, the glare he had received would have sent Romanoff running. It hadn’t taken Skye long to bet Fitz that one day they would find May in Coulson’s bunk on the Bus because it was the largest and was now unoccupied.

Sharing a room with Simmons was bad enough but still being in such close quarters with the rest of the team was getting difficult. The morning sickness was getting worse, some days lasting well into the afternoons. To hide it Skye had taken to the team she was going for a run, when she made it out of sight of the house she would be sick. Unfortunately the team was beginning to notice her constant outings, surprisingly Simmons would sometimes join her and often covered for her with the team. Simmons would tell them that the two of them were exploring the surrounding fields only to spend the next couple of minutes holding back Skye’s hair as she emptied the content of her stomach into the bushes. Skye could tell that Simmons was trying to keep her mouth shut about telling the team but every so often the biochemist failed in her attempt to keep her mouth shut and Skye would storm off, still unwilling to tell the rest of the team the truth.

When she stormed off Skye didn’t take the time to look where she was going, however she did notice when her surroundings began to change. Skye was no longer surrounded by rolling fields instead trees rose up around her. Skye knew that were trees and a river almost a kilometre from the base, she just didn’t realize she had walked that far. The trees were beautiful, unlike any that Skye had ever seen, not that she spent a whole lot of time looking at trees. She smiled when she looked up, the blue sky peeking through the canopy of leaves. Skye was so focused on the sky above she wasn’t looking at the ground on which she was walking. So she didn’t see the tree root blocking her path, she stumbled over it and was surprised when someone was there to catch her. This time Skye knew exactly who it was, the only person stupid enough to be in the forest alone, so she wrapped her arms around Grant Ward.

“Nice to see you to Skye,” he smiled, wrapping his own arms around her.

Skye smiled against his chest, “I’ve missed you Robot.” Despite everything she actually had.

Ward’s smile widened, probably from the nickname, “I’ve missed you too.” Suddenly he pulled away, looking Skye up and down, “But I think it’s time we talked.”

Skye gave the specialist an annoyed look, “Not even a how are you going.”

Ward gave her a doubtful look, “You’ve been sneaking away from the team in order to be sick so I doubt things are going well,” he raised an eyebrow, “I’m guessing you haven’t told them yet.”

Skye looked guilty, “It just hasn’t been the right time.”

Ward gave an amused smile, which quickly disappeared, “And when precisely do you think it is going to be the right time. As someone whose lied to the team I’m telling you it gets harder the longer you do it.” Skye crossed her arms, “I hardly think hiding a pregnancy is the same as hiding an allegiance to a terrorist organization.”

Ward flinched and didn’t reply.

Skye threw up her arms, “What are we doing, Ward?”

Ward raised an eyebrow, “I think we’re back to you calling me a Nazi.”

Skye looked at him angrily, “You were a Nazi.”

“You know even the Nazi’s disowned HYDRA.”

Skye just looked at him, “Because that makes everything so much better,” She then sighed, “We’re getting off topic again, Ward.”

Ward shook his head, “No, Skye, we are definitely on topic. You tell me you want me to be a part of this kid’s life one day and then you’re calling me a Nazi another day.” He sighed, “You asked me to make a choice, so I am. This kid’s better off without me. It’s better for everyone if I get Fury to send someone else out here. Someone who can protect both of you without being compromised.”

“I’m not a weakness, Grant. This baby is not a weakness.” Skye yelled, tears began to form in her eyes, “I don’t want anyone else protecting me, I want you here, with me and our baby. You said in Rome that it takes two people to make a kid and given the chance it takes two to raise one. This kid needs you. I need you.”

“No,” Ward replied, taking a step back, “After everything I’ve done I don’t deserve anything, I don’t deserve you, I don’t deserve a family and I certainly don’t deserve to be happy.”

Taking a step forward Skye slapped him hard, “This isn’t about you. You don’t deserve happiness, fine, but this kid deserves a father. This kid had done nothing wrong.” The tears were flowing freely now, “I’ve spent my whole life wondering why my parents didn’t want me, why they abandoned me. I am not going to be the one to tell this kid that their father didn’t want them. This kid deserves love, they deserve the chance to be happy. I deserve the chance to be happy.”

Skye couldn’t hold the pain and hurt she was feeling at Ward’s words in anymore, she sank to her knees and wrapping her arms around her stomach, she cried.


	38. Where We Stand

Ward felt his heart breaking at the sight before him. All he wanted to do was to wrap his arms around Skye, around their child, and to never let go. However years of training told Ward that they were a weakness, his own brain told him that Skye and the baby were better off without him, yet his pulled him to them. Wrapping his arms around Skye he pulled he close and smoothed her hair as she continued to cry into his shirt.

“I want this, Skye. I want you and I want this baby,” Ward whispered, “But we are never going to get over the things I’ve done and the fact that you are both better off without me. Fury can send someone else to protect you…”

“No,” Skye interrupted, looking up at him, “You can protect us. You’ve been doing it for months. Does me being pregnant change everything that much?”

“Skye…” Ward sighed, “I want to be here, for you and the baby but I don’t think I can watch from a distance anymore.”

Skye sat up and looked at the specialist, “Then don’t. Come back with me. Come back to the team.”

Ward shook his head, “They don’t want me there. They think I’m in prison, we’re all better off that way.”

“I’m not. This baby’s not. I told you in Rome that I am not lying to this kid, Ward.” Skye sighed, “That means telling them about you and also means telling them you’re not in prison, the team will find out eventually. Wouldn’t you rather it be on your terms?”

Ward sat back and sighed, “Skye, how many times do we have to go through this?”

“Until you agree with me.”

“I thought you wanted me to make my own decisions,” Ward replied, getting to his feet, “So this is me making my own decisions.”

“You also said you were trying to be a good man,” Skye replied, pulling herself to her feet, “A good man wouldn’t walk away.”

“I’m not walking away, Skye,” Ward said, “I’m protecting you, I’m protecting both of you.”

“From what, Grant?” Skye replied, taking a step towards him, “You’re the one who keeps telling me you’re here to protect me. How does walking away now protect me?”

“It protects you from me,” Ward snapped, “I’m not a good man. I’m not good for you and I’m certainly not good for your kid.”

“Our kid, Ward. This is our kid,” The tears were gone, anger now lined Skye’s face, “Just answer me one question. What do you want?” Before Ward could answer she continued, “Not what you think is best for me and the baby. What. Do. You. Want, Ward?”

“I want this, Skye?” Ward replied, taking a step back towards the hacker, “This is the only thing I’ve ever wanted. And you? What do you want? You keep telling me that being here with you and the baby is best for the kid, but you never said what you want. Do you want me here, Skye? Do you actually want me to be a part of this kid’s life or do you just not want them to have the questions you had?”

Skye took a step forward, so she was now right up against Ward’s chest, she looked up, pain in her eyes, “What I want is to stay with you and imagine the world outside doesn’t exist.” Almost mirroring Ward’s words from Providence exactly.

Ward didn’t know what to say, he desperately wanted to believe her. He saw the pain in her eyes at his accusation, in all his years as a solider Ward had never seen the kind of hurt in her eyes directed at him. He’d never had anyone who cared enough about him to be hurt by his actions. When he saw the hurt in Skye’s eyes Ward knew her feelings were real, that she really wanted him to stay, not just for the baby but for her as well. Ward saw the hurt grow the longer he didn’t answer, so he did the one thing he though would tell her he cared, the one thing he had wanted to do since she stumbled into his camp. Ward brought his lips down on Skye’s.

Ward could tell Skye was shocked, wondering if he made the right move he went to pull back, only to have her hand on the back of his neck pulling him back down.

When they both came up for air Skye smiled, “Does that mean you’ll come back with me?”

Ward sighed and rested his head against Skye’s, “Not today,” When Skye went to pull away he held her in place, “But you’re right, I need to be here for you,” His eyes flicked to her stomach, “For both of you. I protect you better from a distance, we both know that. I’ll stay but I can’t go back to the team, not yet.”

Skye looked up, wrapping her arms around Ward’s neck, “But one day?”

Ward gave a weak smile, “That’s all I can promise for now. Skye, one day I’ll be ready to go back and they’ll be ready to let me back. When people stop coming after you I’ll be with you and our baby.” He have a proper smile, placing a hand on her stomach.

Dropping a hand from his neck Skye covered Ward’s hand over their baby, “What if they never stop coming after me?”

“Then I’ll never stop protecting you.”

Tears began to form in Skye’s eyes again, “But you won’t be with me.”

Ward placed her other hand on Skye’s cheek, “I’ll always be here for both of you, Skye. Just not as close as both of us would like.”

Skye suddenly smiled wickedly, “We’re close now,” she wrapped her arms back around Ward’s neck, pulling him back down to her level. “They won’t notice I’m gone for a while.”

“Skye…” Ward warned.

Skye smiled again, “You know that was the first time since Providence that you kissed me first.”

Ward smiled, “I didn’t want to push.”

Skye stood on her toes and grazed her lips over his, “Maybe I like it when you push.”

Ward’s smile widened as he crashed his lips down on Skye’s.

When both their hands’ began to wonder Skye pulled away, “Do you have a tent we could move this to?”

Ward barely nodded when Skye’s lips were back on his and he was pulling her towards his tent. Skye moaned when Ward’s lips began to trail down her neck, “This is what got us in trouble in the first place,” He breathed between kisses.

Skye ran her hands through his hair in response, pulling his lips back up to hers.

However they both pulled apart when a voice echoed through the trees, “Skye, are you out here?”


	39. The Right Time

Hearing Trip’s voice Skye pulled her lips from Ward’s. Both of them quickly jumped apart.

Ward looked at her, panic in his eyes, “I thought you said they wouldn’t notice you were gone,” He hissed.

“I didn’t think they would,” Skye whispered back, re-buttoning the shirt Ward had started to undo, “Simmons must have said something.”

Ward fixed his own shirt, “They can’t find me here and they can’t any trace of this camp.”

Skye nodded, “I’ll lead them back to base.” She paused then added, “If you promise that one day you’ll come back with me.”

“Skye…” Ward warned, growing tied of the same argument.

Skye gave a weak smile, “I said one day, Ward.” She took a step back towards him, “Just promise me that.”

“One day,” Ward smiled, he took a step forward to meet Skye. He gave her a brief kiss, not giving it a chance to grow into anything else. Pulling away again Ward sighed, “You should go.”

Skye nodded and stepped back, “I’ll be back.” She didn’t wait for him to respond, she didn’t want to give him the chance to tell her not to come back.

Making sure she was properly dressed Skye quickly left Ward’s camp and headed in the direction of Trip’s voice, hoping to get far enough away from the camp so that when Trip found her he didn’t also find Ward.

“Skye?” She heard Trip call again.

“Trip?” Skye called back, still heading towards his voice, turning along a small path she saw the specialist heading towards her, “What are you doing here?”

Trip sighed, obvious relief at finding the hacker on his face, “Looking for you.” He caught up with Skye, “Simmons said you went off on your own. When you didn’t come back Coulson got worried.”

Skye just looked annoyed, “I was exploring. I needed some time to myself.”

Trip gave an amused look, “Simmons getting on your nerves?”

Skye sighed and shrugged, “Just a little.”

Trip laughed, “I know the feeling.”

Skye returned Trip’s smile, “Fitz getting on your nerves?”

Trip shrugged, “Just a little.”

Skye actually laughed, she still felt odd around Trip but it was easier since they had returned to solid ground. As the two of them talked they walked back towards the base. Skye made sure they didn’t walk anywhere near Ward’s camp. The trees quickly turned back into rolling fields and soon the house came into view.

Trip smiled, “Come on, Skye. Everyone’s been wondering where you’ve been.”

“I wish everyone would stop worrying about me,” Skye mumbled.

“What was that?” Trip asked.

“Never mind.”

Trip raised an eyebrow said nothing as the two of them walked up the small set of stairs that lead up to the small farm house. Trip slide the door open and allowed Skye to walk into the house first.

Skye paused at the sight that awaited her in the house. The entire team, minus Trip, were all seated around the dining table and they all looked up when she walked in. The look on Simmons’ face told Skye everything she needed to know.

Coulson stood up and gave a weak smile, “Care to join us?”

“Not particularly,” Skye snapped, turning towards the bedrooms.

“Skye…” This warning came from May and from the tone Skye knew she wasn’t being given a choice.

Sighing Skye took a seat at the table and crossed her arms, annoyance clear on her face, “Is this another intervention?” Her gaze was now directed at Simmons.

Simmons tried to hide a guilty look as Skye continued to glare at her. However it wasn’t Simmons that answered Skye, it was Coulson. Sighing the director of SHIELD took his seat again, “This isn’t an intervention, Skye. We’re just worried about you, that’s all.”

“I’m fine,” Skye snapped. However the look on the team’s faces told Skye they knew something she didn’t they did. Turning to Coulson Skye showed her annoyance on her face, “What?”

Coulson’s eyes flicked to May before he answered, “You’ve been going out a lot lately. We got worried.” Skye opened her mouth to interrupt but Coulson continued before she could, “So I had May follow you when you went out yesterday.”

Skye went pale, then turned to May, “What did you see?”

May actually looked concerned when she answered, “More than you wanted us to see.”

“What. Did. You. See?” Skye asked again.

May sighed, “I saw you making yourself sick.”

“I wasn’t making myself sick,” Skye interrupted.

“It’s alright,” Fitz said softly, “After everything we’ve been through you just want a way of controlling some aspect of your life. We understand.”

“God, is that what you think of me?” Skye snapped, jumping to her feet, “I’m pregnant not bulimic.” When she saw the looks on the team’s faces Skye realized what she said, what she had actually admitted out loud. Before any of the team could say anything Skye looked at Simmons, “If you want answers talk to Simmons. I can’t take this right now.” Before any of the team could stop her Skye ran to the room she shared with Simmons, locking the door behind her.

Laying on her bed, Skye sighed as she placed a hand over her child, “That went well.”


	40. Secret’s Out

Simmons went a deep red as the team continued to stare at her. They hadn’t said a word since Skye ran off, choosing instead to wait for Simmons to give them the answers that Skye wouldn’t.

When Simmons continued to remain silent Coulson spoke, he wasn’t angry, just slightly shocked, “You knew?” When Simmons nodded weakly but didn’t speak Coulson asked another question, “How long?”

Simmons took a breath before answering, “How long has she been pregnant or how long have I known?”

Coulson rubbed his eyes, “I think we all know when. London, right?” He couldn’t think of any other place that Skye had been away from the team long enough to actually do what was required to get pregnant, hiding his discomfort at the thought Coulson looked at Simmons, who had nodded in response to his question, “And how long have you known about it?”

Simmons shifted uncomfortably but answered honestly, “Since she collapsed in Rome, I ran a blood test to make sure it was just dehydration and…” Simmons trailed off, unsure of how to finish.

Trip was the next to speak, he actually looked somewhat impressed, “You’ve managed to lie to us since Rome?” He smiled, “And here I thought you were on terrible liar.”

“I didn’t lie,” Simmons insisted, “I just didn’t tell you the truth.”

Before Trip could answer Coulson cut him off, “Which begs the question of why you didn’t tell us or even just tell me?”

Simmons looked guilty, “Skye begged me not to. She wanted to tell you herself. I told her that if her or the baby’s health was at risk I would tell you, other than that it wasn’t my secrets to tell.”

Fitz actually looked a little hurt, “I can’t believe you didn’t even tell me, Jemma.”

“Oh, please,” Simmons replied, “We both know you would have said something. You’re worse than me when it comes to keeping secrets.”

“I am not. I haven’t told anyone about that thing you do with…”

“Timeout,” Coulson interrupted before Fitz could finish his sentence. He turned back to Simmons, “We’re getting off topic.” He paused, the continued, “Did Skye tell you how long she’s known?”

Simmons shrugged, “She told me that she hadn’t known for sure until I told her in Rome but that she had suspected since the first time we stopped in Switzerland.”

“Which explains why she wanted off the plane so badly,” Trip thought out loud, “I thought it was just cabin fever.”

“But Skye obviously wanted to find out for sure,” Coulson concluded, which earned a nod from Trip. Looking back at the biochemist Coulson asked another question, “Is there anything else you want to tell us, Simmons?”

Simmons shook her head, “About Skye? No.”

“You’ve been keeping an eye on them?” Coulson asked.

Simmons nodded, “Both eyes, sir.”

“And they’re both okay?” Coulson asked.

“As far as I can tell,” Simmons replied.

However Coulson detected something in the tone of the biochemist’s voice, there was something she wasn’t saying, “What do you mean, as far as you can tell?”

Simmons looked a little guilty about spilling more of Skye’s secrets but answered anyway, “There’s only so many tests I could run on the Bus and Skye wouldn’t let me do an ultrasound.”

“Why not?” Fitz asked.

Simmons shrugged, “She was worried one of you might see. She said she could explain me poking and prodding her but she wasn’t sure she could explain away an ultra sound.”

“Skye was that worried about what we’d do if we found out?” Trip asked.

Simmons sighed, “I think so was more worried about what you would think of her. Skye’s not exactly proud of what happened in London, we’re the only family she’s ever had and disappointing us is a big thing to her.”

Coulson gave a weak smile, “You two have spent a lot of time talking about this, haven’t you?”

Simmons lent back in her chair, “I’ve been trying to convince her to tell you. It’s why we’ve been fighting, why she stormed off today.”

May had remained silent since Skye had left but she suddenly stood up and headed off towards the bedrooms.

Simmons ran after her, quickly blocking the Calvary’s path, “What do you think you’re doing?”

At first May was shocked that the biochemist would stand in her way but then she realized she was protecting Skye, “First I’m going to talk some sense into that girl then I’m going to drag her to the labs and make sure you give her a proper check-up.”

Simmons was shocked at what was probably one of May’s longest conversations, “You’re scaring me with that face, what do you think you are going to do to her? Skye already thinks you are all going hate her, do you really think knocking down her door is going to help? Let me talk to her, I’ll get her downstairs. You can stand guard if you want.”

May was actually impressed that Simmons had stood her ground, so she put her hands up in surrender, turning back to the dining area and allowing Simmons to talk to Skye.

Standing outside their bedroom door Simmons knocked and when Skye didn’t answer she fished the key out of her pocket and let herself in. The hacker was lying on the bed closest to the window, she looked like she was asleep, one arm across her stomach, the other across her eyes. However after sharing a room with Skye Simmons knew better.

Closing the door behind her Simmons crossed her arms and stared down at Skye, “I know you’re awake.” When Skye just moaned in response Simmons sat down on the side of the bed, “Are you okay?”

“No,” Skye moaned, “I’m tired, I’m sick and I’m pretty sure I just alienated the only family I’ve ever had.” She pulled her arm away from her eyes so that she could look at Simmons.

Simmons’ gaze softened, “They’re not angry.”

Skye shifted into a sitting position, “But they are disappointed in me.” It wasn’t a question, “Do they want me to leave? Are they going to make me give up the baby?”

“Never.”

Skye gave a weak smile at Simmons’ response but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, “What do they want?”

“The same thing you do,” Simmons replied, taking Skye’s hand, “To make sure you’re both okay.”

Skye absentmindedly rubbed a hand across her stomach, “I told you we’re fine.”

“Skye…” Simmons sighed, “They’re worried, and they just want me to make sure everything’s going smoothly.” She gave a weak smile, “Otherwise May’s going to come in here and drag you to the lab where she will no doubt cuff you to the table while I give you an ultrasound.”

Now Skye just looked annoyed, “Are you still going on about that ultrasound?”

Simmons stood her ground, glaring at Skye, “They already know. What’s your excuse now?” When Skye didn’t answer, instead choosing to look away, Simmons realized what the answer was, “You’re scared.”

“No,” Skye said looking up, “Just…”

“Nervous?” Simmons concluded.

“It’s just…” Skye sighed, “What if something’s wrong, what if I did something or that drug you gave me does something. I was shot, Simmons, in the gut, twice. What if…” Skye trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought.

“And wouldn’t you want to know sooner rather than later?” Simmons asked softly, “Please, Skye. I’ll be there and the rest of the team can be there if you want?”

“No,” Skye insisted quickly but nodded, “I’ll go but only if it’s just you.”

“Okay,” Simmons nodded, standing up and helping Skye off the bed.

Leaving the bedroom Simmons led Skye to one of the labs hidden beneath the house where she got Skye to lie on one of the benches.

“Sorry it’s so hard,” Simmons said, giving reassuring smile, “This place wasn’t designed for comfort.” Setting up the machine she smiled again, “Roll up your shirt. This might be cold, sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Skye assured, rolling her shirt up. She flinched didn’t complain when the cold gel touched her stomach. However worry was still etched on her face, “Is everything okay?”

Simmons was silent for a few seconds the smiled, “Everything’s fine, do you want to see?”

Skye sighed in relief and nodded. Despite modern technology the ultrasound was still black and white. Still staring at the image on the screen Skye spoke to Simmons, “You’re sure everything’s okay?”

Simmons continued to smile, “Everything’s fine, Skye. Your baby’s perfectly fine.” She placed a hand on Skye’s shoulder, “Do you want me to print some pictures for you?”

Skye looked away from the screen, “Seriously?”

Simmons smiled when she handed Skye the pictures.

Skye smiled at the pictures, there was someone else that needed to see them.


	41. Later

Ward was desperate to see Skye. It had been almost three weeks since he had seen the hacker, three weeks since she had stumbled into his camp and three weeks since he had promised to be with her and their child one day. Ward hadn’t lied when he had told Skye that he would be with her one day, he just didn’t expect one day to come any time soon. However stretching the truth didn’t stop Ward from actually wanting to be with her. In the tree weeks since he had actually talked to Skye Ward had barely even seen her. She had stopped going outside to be sick, which meant that either she had stopped being sick, which Ward highly doubted, or Skye had stopped hiding it from the team. Skye had left the house several times and headed in the direction of his camp but one of the team would always run to catch up, either joining Skye on her walk or encouraging her to go back into the house. Even from a distance Ward could see Skye’s anger at being treated like a breakable object. For once Ward was glad that her anger wasn’t directed at him.

Ward was a light sleeper, he had learned long ago that even the slightest noise could be a sign of intrusion, so he definitely woke up when a plane took off from one of the fields adjacent to the house. He managed to get out of his tent and to one of his lookout points just in time to see the Bus disappear into the distance. He was then surprised that there was still movement in the house. Despite the early hour from his perch in the tree Ward saw Skye exit the house and begin to head in his direction, Ward was surprised again when no one followed her out. Ward concluded that something must have happened because at least one person had left on the Bus and whoever was left had better things to do than keep an eye on Skye. It didn’t take Ward long to get back down to ground level and back to his camp. Skye wasn’t quite as fast, she had almost a kilometre to walk after all.

Ward smiled when Skye finally walked into his camp, he didn’t even get a chance to offer a greeting before Skye crossed the length of the clearing and pulled his lips down on hers. The kiss quickly deepened and Ward found his hands in Skye’s hair, while Skye’s hands attempted to pull his shirt up. However when Skye’s hands began to wonder down he pulled back.

“We can’t, someone might come looking for you again,” He breathed.

Skye shook her head, “Coulson, May and Fitz are tracking something to Japan, I don’t know what, I’m guessing you saw the Bus leave. Trip’s teaching Simmons self-defence and we both know that’s going to take a while.” She smiled at him the same way she had the last time she had visited, wickedly, “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

“Skye…” Ward warned.

Skye’s smile widened, “Why do you always say my name like it’s a bad thing?” She pulled him back down to her level, “Besides it’s your fault I feel like this.”

Ward smiled as he grazed his lips over Skye’s, “And why’s that?”

Skye groaned when Ward pulled back without actually kissing her, “It’s your kid that’s messing with my hormones.”

Ward pulled Skye closer, the only thing between them now was their clothes, “I thought we agreed it was our kid.”

Skye smiled up at Ward, “Yes, we did.”

Ward leaned down, “We should talk.”

Skye grazed her lips over Ward’s, “Later.”

Ward didn’t complain, bringing his lips down on Skye’s. The kiss became heated and passionate as they stumbled into his tent, tugging at each other’s clothes.

* * *

 

Collapsing on Ward’s camp mattress Skye laughed as she lay next to Ward, “I forgot how much fun you could be, Robot.”

Ward rolled onto his side so he could look at the hacker that lay on her back next to him, “Do you seriously still believe I’m a robot?”

Skye smiled, turning her head to face Ward, “Yes, but I enjoy your attempts to prove me wrong.”

Ward returned the smile, “And I enjoy proving it to you.” He moved closer to Skye, placing a hand on her bare stomach, “You’re starting to show.”

Skye smiled, placing a hand over Ward’s, “Only just. You’re the only one that’s noticed.”

Ward laughed, “I’m the only one who’s seen you naked.”

Sitting up Skye reached for her discarded clothing, “Speaking of seeing things.” She pulled her ultrasound pictures out of her jacket pocket, “Do you want to see the baby?”

Ward sat up, taking the pictures from Skye, “It’s so small.”

Skye smiled, “Of course it’s small, Ward, it’s still growing.” She suddenly looked a little guilty, “And the pictures are three weeks old. I tried to show you earlier but I wasn’t left alone for long enough to come visit.”

Looking up from the pictures, Ward put an arm around Skye, “It’s okay.” He gave her a weak smile, “I’m guessing you told them.”

Skye nodded, “About the baby? It kind of slipped out.”

“How’d they take it?”

Skye sighed, laying back down, “They actually took it well. They’re just a little over protective now.”

“Good,” Ward replied, leaning on his elbow and looking down at Skye, “You need all the protection you can get.” Before Skye could complain Ward continued, “I need you to be safe, Skye. I don’t know what I would do if I lost either of you.”

Skye smiled up at Ward, “You’re not going to lose us, Grant. I’m not going anywhere, not while I’ve got you protecting me.” She sighed and sat up again, “I should be getting back, they’ll notice I’m gone soon.”

“Here,” Ward said, handing Skye back the ultrasound pictures, “You’ll need these back.”

Skye took back two of the tree pictures, “Keep one.” When Ward went to complain she cut him off, “No one will notice if one’s missing.” After pulling her clothes back on she gave Ward a brief kiss, “You can give it back when you come back to the team.”

“Skye…” Ward sighed, pulling his own clothes back on.

Skye smiled, “Don’t worry, Robot, I’m not pushing you. Just letting you know the offer’s still open. If you want back on the team, I’ll fight for you. I’ll always fight for you.”


	42. Panic

When half the team was away Skye had managed to visit Ward three times however since the others had returned Skye hadn’t been able to slip out even once. Sometimes she would sit on the porch at the back of the house just to give Ward the chance to see her and their child, even if it was from a distance.

It had been almost three weeks since had noticed her baby bump and despite wearing baggy clothes the team was beginning to notice it, it was getting to the point where even the baggiest of Skye’s clothes couldn’t hide her growing bump. Skye had begged Coulson to let her go into the local town to buy some new clothes, he had reluctantly agreed as long as she remained in sight of May at all times.

The trip into town had proved interesting. May followed Coulson’s orders to the letter, only reluctantly letting Skye go into the changing rooms alone and even then it was only after they were checked out.

Returning from their trip into town Skye quickly distanced herself from May, the woman’s stare sent chills down Skye’s spine. She was relieved when the Calvary didn’t hang around, instead going off to tell Coulson that they had returned.

Intending to just sit down for a couple of minutes Skye dumped her shopping on the dining table and took a seat on the common area lounge. However the second she sat of the soft lounge the day began to catch up with her, soon Skye was laying on the lounge fast asleep.

Skye was having a good dream, Ward was back on the team holding their child, a daughter, in his arms. He had smiled at Skye and she had felt like nothing in the world could tear her away from her family. So Skye wasn’t happy when a hand on her shoulder woke her from the dream.

“Skye…” It was Trip’s voice pulling Skye from her dream.

Skye moaned as she opened her eyes, “Five more minutes.”

Trip laughed, “Come one, Skye. If you’re going to have a nap wouldn’t you rather it was in your own bed.”

Skye groaned as she sat up, “I was comfy here.”

Trip smiled, “And you would have spent the next five hours complaining about all the aches and pains you got from sleeping on the couch.”

Skye smiled, “I’m pregnant, Trip, I’m going to complain about aches and pains whether I slept on the lounge or not.”

“Skye…” Trip sighed.

Skye laughed, “Why does everyone say my name like that?”

Trip raised an eyebrow, “Like what?”

“Never mind,” Skye replied quickly, realizing that it was Ward that had also said her name like that, “Just my mind messing with me, that’s all.”

Trip looked doubtful but didn’t push, “If you say so.”

Skye smiled in response, “Thanks.” Then she sighed, “Can you help me up. There’s no point in going back to sleep here.” Holding her hands out.

Trip smiled as he pulled Skye to her feet, “Do you need anything else?”

“No,” Skye replied shaking her head, “I’m…” She trailed off, placing a hand over her stomach.

Trip saw the worry appear on Skye’s face, “Skye are you alright?” Skye remained silent, “Do you want me to get Simmons?” When Skye nodded weakly he hurried off in search of the biochemist.

Skye sat down, wrapping her arms around her stomach. Skye had felt something she hadn’t felt before and it worried her.

It mustn’t have taken Trip long to find Simmons because barely a minute after he left he hurried back into the room followed by Simmons.

The biochemist sat down next to Skye, “Skye, you okay?”

“Something’s wrong. I felt something,” Skye said, panic in her voice, “I told you something would go wrong. I…I…” “Shh,” Simmons reassured, “It’s okay. Let’s get you down to the lab and checked out, okay?”

Skye nodded weakly and let Trip help her back to her feet. Simmons put a reassuring arm around Skye’s shoulder as she led the hacker down to the lab. Simmons knew Skye well enough to kick Trip out as soon as Skye was settled in the lab. The specialist looked worried but allowed himself to be pushed out of the room.

Skye sat on the bench as Simmons ran her tests. Skye’s biggest worry, besides losing her child, was telling Ward something went wrong. She had promised him that nothing would happen, that they would be fine. Skye didn’t want to be another person in a long list of those who had hurt or let Ward down.

Skye was still trying to supress her panic when Simmons sat on the bench next to her. The biochemist smiled, “It’s okay, Skye. It’s just the baby.”

The panic didn’t leave Skye’s eyes, “What do you mean? What’s wrong with my baby?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Skye,” Simmons laughed, “It’s the baby moving, that’s all. In fact,” Simmons smiled, “It’s going to happen a lot from now on.”

Skye looked at the biochemist, panic finally disappearing from her eyes, “It’s the baby?” Simmons nodded as Skye placed a hand over her bump, “You must think I’m an idiot.”

Simmons smiled, “Never.”

Skye smiled weakly, “My baby’s really okay?”

“Your baby’s fine,” Simmons assured.

Skye wiped away the tears that had begun to form, “You realize Trip probably ran straight to Coulson.”

Simmons smiled as she helped Skye off the bench, “Then we better go talk to him, let him know everything’s fine.”


	43. A Bad Feeling

 

Skye wasn’t sure what woke her up, be it the kick in the kidneys from the baby or the flash of lightening and crash of thunder. Whichever it was Skye knew she wasn’t going to get back to sleep, the baby was now awake and moving which meant so was she. In the five weeks since she had first felt the baby move Skye had gotten used to it, now it was a comfort to feel her baby move, to know it was okay.

Pulling herself out of bed Skye tried not to wake Simmons, but there was no point, Simmons was already awake. At least that was the conclusion Skye drew when she noticed Simmons’ bed was empty. Skye briefly wondered where the biochemist could be at two o’clock in the morning but was distracted by another kick to kidney.

Groaning, Skye ran a hand along her expanding bump, “What’s wrong, baby?” Another kick, one that seriously hurt. Skye decided to find Simmons, maybe she could tell Skye why her baby suddenly decided that her kidney was a soccer ball.

Leaving the bedroom Skye made her way through the quiet house, the thunder and the rain outside the only noise and headed to the only place she could think Simmons to be, the lab below.

Once in the base below the house Simmons wasn’t that hard to find, there was only one lab with a light on after all.

When Skye knocked on the door the biochemist looked up from her work, “Skye? What are you doing up?” A small amount of shock evident on her face.

Skye shrugged as she walked into the room, “Baby’s awake therefore I am.”

Simmons took a step back, her surprise turned to interest, “The baby shouldn’t moving that much so soon. Certainly not enough to keep you awake. Not yet anyway.”

Skye lowered herself into one of the lab’s chairs, “That’s what I thought but the kidney shots say differently.” She said as she rubbed a hand across her stomach, “What’s your excuse for being up this late?”

Simmons shrugged, “I never could sleep through thunder storms.”

Skye smiled, “Isn’t England like constant rain?”

Simmons laughed, “Rain I can handle, it’s the thunder and lightning that creeps me out.”

Skye nodded, still rubbing a hand across her stomach, “Yeah, I don’t think the baby likes it either.”

Simmons was about to reply when the lights outside the lab came on, in fact all the lights in the base came on. Simmons was out the door quickly, Skye was just a bit slower. Both women made it to the hanger to see May exit the plane.

“What’s going on?” Simmons asked.

If May was surprised that the biochemist and the hacker were in the underground base this early she didn’t show it, “Base lights up when the perimeter is breached.”

Skye was worried, “Which means?”

“We have company.”

* * *

Trip, Coulson and Fitz were already in the common area when the three women made it upstairs.

Fitz actually hugged Simmons, “You weren’t in bed. We got worried. Where were you?”

Simmons patted Fitz’s back awkwardly, “We were in the lab.”

Coulson looked concerned, “At two o’clock in the morning? Is everything okay?” His gaze was directed more towards Skye than Simmons.

Skye shifted uncomfortably under the stare, “Everything’s okay. We just couldn’t sleep through the storm.”

Coulson nodded, still not entirely convinced but he had more pressing problems, “Speaking of the storm. It hid the arrival of our visitors.” He gestured to the window, “One of the lightning flashes must have been their portal.”

“Portal?” Skye asked, heading over to the window and peeking through the curtains. In front of the house stood four people, three men and a woman. Skye didn’t recognize the men but she did know the woman, she turned back to Coulson, “Sif? What’s she doing here? And why is she still out in the rain?”

At Sif’s name both May and Simmons hurried over to the window to sneak a peek. Coulson waited for them to finish looking before speaking, “Yes, it’s Sif. From our records the others are Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg. They were all in New Mexico with Thor. I have no idea why they’re here. I was waiting for everyone to arrive before finding out.”

“So…” Simmons said taking another peek out the window, “Are we going out there or letting them in here?”

“Meet them half way?” Skye suggested, “Meet them on the porch. That way we’re not in the rain and we’re not letting them into the base.”

Trip raised an eyebrow, “Sounding a little paranoid, Skye?”

Skye rubbed a hand across her stomach, “Just a feeling.”

After everything that had happened Coulson knew to trust Skye’s feelings, “Do you think they’re dangerous?”

“Of course they’re dangerous, they’re basically gods,” Skye replied, “Whether they’re a threat to us is another question.”

“Do you want to wait inside while I talk to them?” Coulson asked.

Skye nodded weakly, “Something about this doesn’t feel right.”

“Trip you stay with Skye,” Coulson ordered, “Everyone else with me.”

FitzSimmons didn’t look impressed by the idea of going outside but neither of them complained.

While the rest of the team stepped outside Skye and Trip positioned themselves by the door. Skye took a seat while Trip remained standing. Both were close enough to hear what was going on outside.

“Greetings, Phillip, Son of Coul,” Called Sif, “May we enter your residence? We have much to discuss.”

“I would appreciate it if we could remain here, Lady Sif,” Coulson called back, “Something tells me you’re not here with good news.”

There was silence for a minute as the Asgardians made their way up onto the porch. There was an awkward silence when they arrived. Skye wanted to take a peek but something told her that it wasn’t a good idea so it was difficult to tell the mood out on the porch but something told Skye it wasn’t good.

“Son of Coul it is good to see you alive,” One of the men said, Skye wasn’t sure which, “The Lady Sif only recently told us of your survival. Thor will be glad, although we understand you wish to tell him yourself.”

“Volstagg, right?” Coulson asked.

“Indeed I am,” The one named Volstagg replied, “You know the Lady Sif. My other companions are the warriors Fandral and Hogun.”

“Agents May, Fitz and Simmons,” Coulson replied, introducing his own team to the Asgardians, “I am interested to know why you and your companions are here, another escaped prisoner?”

“All our prisoners are accounted for,” One of the other men replied, “The All Father sent us in search of an Eir.”

“My knowledge of your world is limited,” Coulson answered, “But it was my understanding that Eir is a woman not a type of person.”

“Eir is both,” Sif replied, “She was our first healer and during our war with the frost giants those whose blood could be used to heal were named after her.”

“And you believe one of these Eir to be on earth?” Coulson asked, “For how long?”

“There had been one here for over two hundred years but we learned long ago that he is too dangerous even for us to go after,” Sif informed Coulson, “His name is Sigourney, liked to call himself Sir, perhaps you’ve met him?”

Skye’s blood cold, if Ward had told her the truth then Sif was talking about her father and if they weren’t here for him then they were here for her.

Oblivious to Skye’s panic Coulson asked Sif, “Sir? Can’t say I have.”

“Really?” Sif asked, “Our gatekeeper Heimdall informs us that he has pursued your team for months in search of his daughter.”

Confusion filled Coulson’s voice, “He believes we have her?”

Skye’s panic was rising and Trip noticed, the specialist put an arm around her trying to calm the hacker but Skye tuned him out, listening to the conversation that had continued outside.

Even Trip froze when Sif replied to Coulson:

“His daughter was born in the region you call China. I believe you call her Skye.”

“You’re here for her,” It was May that answered.

“We are,” Sif answered, “Her and her child are the last of the Eir, Odin wants them on Asgard.”

“What if she doesn’t want to go with you?” Coulson asked, “Skye is family to us, we won’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to.”

There was a hesitation before Volstagg spoke, “Odin has ordered her return to Asgard, by force if necessary.”

The team remained silent, even inside the house Skye could feel the tension.

Volstagg spoke again, “We understand you might want to say your farewells. We will return after the sun rises twice more.”

The Asgardians didn’t say anything else, Skye heard them leave the porch and disappear into the rain. It was then the panic really set in. She could feel Trip pulling her into a hug, she then felt herself being transferred into Simmons’ hug. The tears flowed freely, Skye didn’t know what to do. They wanted her, wanted her child and they were willing to go through the team to get to them. She needed to get away, if she wasn’t around the team would be safe. And there was only one person she trusted enough to help her get away. Skye needed to protect both her child and the team and only Grant Ward could help her do that.


	44. Caught in the Rain

Sleeping in a tent in the middle of a storm was difficult, even for Grant Ward. So the specialist had retreated into his stolen car. It wasn’t comfy but at least it was high enough off the ground that it didn’t flood. In fact because it was uncomfortable Ward was an even lighter sleeper than usual, so he didn’t miss the flash of light that definitely wasn’t lightning. He recognized the flash of light from the reports from London and New Mexico, it signalled the arrival of Asgardians. Ward desperately wanted to know what was going on, Sir had told him Asgard would be one of the worlds after Skye. Unfortunately whoever had arrived had done so too close to the base for Ward to intercept them and climbing to one of his lookout points in a lightning storm was just plain suicidal. Ward’s only choice was to try and get a better look from ground level and hope the storm covered his approach. Unfortunately every so often lightning would illuminate the fields that Ward attempted to sneak through, so he didn’t get quite as close as he would have liked to get but it was close enough to see some of the exchange between the team and the Asgardians. The first thing Ward noticed was that neither Skye nor Trip had joined the team outside, then he recognized one of the Asgardians from their run in with Lorelei, the Lady Sif. Although the rain and thunder drowned out any chance Ward had of hearing the conversation the curtain of rain didn’t stop him from sensing the tension on the porch. Especially when the largest of the Asgardians was speaking, even May looked like it took all of her will power not to punch the man. Even from a distance Ward could tell something wasn’t right.

As suddenly as they come the Asgardians departed and Coulson, FitzSimmons and May hurried inside. Unable to observe the team inside the house Ward followed Sif and her friends. Despite the rain they set up camp in the middle of one of the fields. It was obvious that they didn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.

Leaving the Asgardians alone Ward headed back to his own camp, there were no longer any lights on in the house so there was no point in going there and he was getting a little tired of standing in the rain. Everyone would still be there after the sun rose.

Settling back into the back seat of the car Ward decided he could get a few hours sleep before morning came. However Ward had barely closed his eyes for more than a couple of minutes when he heard movement in his camp, movement that certainly didn’t come from the storm.

Drawing his gun Ward went out into the rain again. He was expecting to find one of the Asgardians scouting the area or even one of the team searching for more threats. He was not, however, expecting to find a very pregnant, very wet hacker. 

* * *

Skye could barely stand by the time she stumbled into Ward’s camp, she almost broke down when she realized his tent was no longer there. When the specialist emerged from behind a grove of trees Skye all but threw herself into his arms, ignoring the gun Ward dropped into the mud. Skye felt safe in his arms, she allowed herself to be led into the grove of trees from which Ward had emerged, where she realized he had hidden a vehicle. Neither of them said anything as Ward pulled her into the back seat of the car, Skye allowed Ward to help her out of her soaking wet jacket and jumper and wrapped a dry blanket around her.

Ward finally spoke after he pulled the hacker into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, “What in god’s name do you think you’re doing out in this weather, Skye?” Skye was almost glad to hear concern, not anger in the specialist’s tone, “It can’t be good for either of you.”

Skye huddled closer to Ward’s chest, desperate for his warmth, “We’re fine. It’s safer out here than it is on base.”

Ward leaned back against the door, pulling Skye along with him. He had one arm wrapped around her shoulder, using his hand to stroke her hair, the other hand placed on Skye’s growing bump, “What’s going on, Skye? I saw the Asgardians arrive, I saw Sif and I saw how the team reacted to their arrival. Something’s going on, the team’s worried, even May couldn’t hid her’s and whatever they said sure as hell scared you.”

Skye mumbled something against Ward’s chest.

“What was that?” Ward asked, leaning down closer to Skye.

“They’re after me, Grant,” Skye sobbed against Ward’s chest, “They’re after our baby.” When Ward remained silent Skye looked up at him, “But you knew that, didn’t you? You knew they were here for us?”

Ward shook his head, “Not for sure.”

Skye pulled herself off Ward’s chest, sitting up in his lap, she pulled the blanket tighter around herself, “What haven’t you told me, Grant?”

Ward sighed, “I talked to Sir after London. I managed to get some answers this time.”

“After London?” Skye asked, “Before or after Rome?” When Ward didn’t answer Skye asked the question another way, “Before or after I told you I was pregnant?”

“Before,” Ward replied, sitting up, “He found me in Paris just after you all left London. I swear I wouldn’t have told him anything, even if I had known about the baby.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Skye asked, hurt in her eyes, “I thought we have come to an understanding. That we wouldn’t lie to each other, more importantly that you wouldn’t lie to me.”

“I didn’t lie, Skye,” Ward replied, “If you had asked if I had seen him again I would have told you, I swear. It just seemed like your father wasn’t a topic you really wanted to talk about.”

“He wasn’t,” Skye replied, struggling to stay warm without Ward’s arms around her, “But it would have still been nice to know.”

Sensing Skye’s discomfort Ward pulled her back into a hug, “I’m sorry, okay. I should have told you about seeing Sir.” He sighed, placing a hand back over Skye’s stomach, “He warned me that one of those coming after you would be the Asgardians. He said your blood was special, that you see things others can’t.”

“I don’t know about seeing things,” Skye replied, huddling closer to Ward, still desperate for warmth, “But the Asgardians mentioned my blood as well, and that it could be used to heal.”

Ward raised an eyebrow, “You ran because they said your blood could heal?”

Skye sat up again, “I ran because they want to take me away.”

Ward sat up, he pushed the wet hair out of Skye’s face, “Coulson would never let that happen.”

“Even if it killed him,” Skye agreed, “All of them would sacrifice themselves if it meant me and the baby were safe. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“So you came to me?”

Skye nodded weakly, “They’re no doubt watching the team. You can get me away from here. Protect me, the baby and the team all at the same time.”

“Skye…” Ward sighed. Skye rolled her eyes at his tone but let him continue, “How far do you think we’ll get? You know I would do anything for you, I would face down gods for you and something tells me that before this is over I might just have to but do you honestly think we could run from gods.”

“I thought we agreed they weren’t actually gods,” Skye interjected, the sighed, “But no, I didn’t think we could get away but I thought we could try and,” Skye said huddling close to Ward’s chest, letting him pull her into a tight hug, “Besides I really needed to know you were still watching out for us.”

“Always,” Ward replied, kissing Skye’s hair, “If you want to run I’ll run with you, even if we don’t get far.”

“The team won’t notice I’m gone until morning,” Skye said, closing her eyes, “Can I sleep on it? Maybe day light will give us another option besides running or giving in.”

Ward pulled another blanket over the both of them, “Sure. Get some sleep.” He kissed Skye on the forehead, “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

It didn’t take Skye long to fall asleep, Ward’s embrace was where she wanted to fall asleep every night. However a sudden kick to the kidney woke her, she sat up quickly, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

Ward was awake in an instant, “Skye, is something wrong?”

“The baby,” Skye breathed, another kidney shot made her flinch. Seeing the worry on Ward’s face she gave a weak smile and shook her head, “It’s okay. Baby’s been active lately….”

Suddenly the passenger side door in the front of the car opened and Sif took a seat, closing the door behind her. The Asgardian turned to face the couple in the back seat, “I believe we need to talk.”


	45. Another Option

Ward reached for his gun, only to realize the one he usually kept close by was currently in the mud outside and all the others were out of reach. He put a protective arm around Skye, there was no way he was letting her be taken.

Sif held her hands up, showing Ward she was unarmed, “I come in peace.”

“You’re here to take Skye, armed or not you do not come in peace,” Ward snapped.

“I am not here for the girl,” Sif promised, “However I do wish to discuss her future.”

“The girl is right here and she has a name,” Skye snapped, still protected in Ward’s embrace.

“Forgive my rudeness,” Sif answered, bowing her head, “I meant no offence.”

Skye sat up, pulling herself from Ward’s lap and settling on the back seat, arms still wrapped around her stomach, “If you’re not here for me, why are you here?”

“I have already told you I am here to discuss your future,” Sif answered.

Skye looked doubtful, “Are you saying there’s another option that doesn’t involve me being taken against my will to another world?”

“Perhaps,” Sif nodded, although her tone suggested that she was still trying to that other option, “Odin has ordered the Warriors Three return you to Asgard. My orders, however, are more open to interpretation.”

Ward shifted so he was sitting against the back of the seat instead of the door, “You joined them after they received their orders? So you were never explicitly ordered t bring Skye back to Asgard.”

Sif nodded, “I doubted Thor would want the friend of his friend forced to do anything.”

“Do your friends know you joined them so you could undermine their orders?” Ward asked.

“I believe they asked me to join them because I can undermine their orders,” Sif answered shifting in her seat, “They don’t like their orders any more than I do.”

“If they don’t like their orders why follow them?” Skye asked.

“We follow our king,” Sif replied, “Wherever he may lead.”

Suddenly Skye felt the baby move again and barely managed to get the car door open in time to empty last night’s dinner into the mud outside. Ward was behind her in an instant, holding her hair out of her face and protecting the hacker from the worst of the rain. When there was nothing left for her to throw up Skye pulled herself back inside the car, groaning as she leant back into the seat.

“Are you okay?” Ward asked as he reached into the back of the car pulled out a box of tissues, passing them to Skye.

“No,” Skye groaned, using one hand to use the tissues to clean her face and the other hand to rub her stomach, “This baby of yours keeps using my organs as punching bags.”

Sif had remained silent throughout Skye’s ordeal but at the hacker’s comment she looked at Ward was surprise, “You are the child’s father?”

Ward glared but nodded, his attention returning to Skye. He pulled her into a hug rewrapping the blanket around Skye, “Maybe we should talk about this another time. Both of you need rest.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Grant,” Skye replied, resting her head against Ward’s chest. She turned her head to face Sif, “I need to know what’s going on. Why does Odin want me on Asgard? Why now?”

Sif sighed, “That’s a lot of questions I’m not sure I have the answers to.”

“Try,” Skye replied, still resting her head against Ward’s chest.

Sif gave a brief nod, “You either heard what Volstagg and I told your team mates or they informed of the conversation themselves. So you already know why we are here.”

Skye gave a weak nod, “Something about my blood, about Sir and being an Air.”

“It’s called an Eir,” Sif corrected, “And your team denied knowing anything about Sir.”

“They don’t,” Was all Skye said.

“You’ve met him?” Sif asked.

Skye shook her head but let Ward answer, “I have.”

“And you survived?” Sif looked doubtful.

“Barely,” Ward replied, “He beat within an inch of my life…”

“And then healed you,” Sif concluded, “He mixed his blood with yours and your wounds healed faster than was natural?”

Ward sat straighter, still keeping Skye’s head against his chest, “How did you know? I mean I didn’t know it was his blood that healed me, only that everything was healing faster than it should have.”

“It’s the Eir’s gift,” Sif replied, “Their blood can be used to heal most external injuries, even some internal one.”

“That’s why Odin wants me and my baby,” Skye concluded, “Because our blood can be used to heal?”

“Yes,” Sif answered simply.

“But it doesn’t,” Skye argued, “I was shot, I almost died. My blood didn’t help me then, except the fact that it was spilled all over the floor.”

Sif shook her head, “Your blood cannot heal you, only others.”

“Isn’t that helpful,” Skye snapped, finally pulling herself off Ward’s chest. Although she let him keep an arm around her as she leant back against the seat. “Sorry,” Skye sighed, rubbing a hand across her stomach, “Today had not been a good day.”

“Your child’s been active?” Sif asked.

“Yes,” Skye groaned, “Ever since you guys arrived. Simmons told me that it shouldn’t be this active this soon but if you’re telling me I’m part alien maybe things are different.”

Sif nodded, “Vanir pregnancies are slightly different to human ones. As half and half I believe you will receive bits of both, in the later stages anyway.”

“Back up,” Skye said, rubbing her head trying to rid herself of the headache that was forming, “Before you said I was an Eir, now you’re saying I’m a Vanir, which is it?” Skye’s annoyance was rising, “I just want to know what is going on. You’ve told me why Odin wants me on Asgard but you still haven’t told me why now, why not when you were tracking Lorelei down? And why are you willing to defy your leader by not taking me back? Something tells me it’s not just for Thor or Coulson’s sake.”

“We did not know who you were on my last visit however in his search for you your father has drawn attention,” Sif replied, “We were aware that Sigourney, Sir, had a child in the region you call China twenty or so years ago. We thought she perished with the village. We did not know it was you until your father began moving for the first time since he ran from China all those years ago.”

Before Skye could respond Ward did, “So the why now has nothing to do with the baby?”

Sif shook her head, “Heimdell only informed us of your condition shortly before we left. I am not sure if he informed the All Father of it or not.”

Before Ward could interrupt again Skye spoke again, “You’re getting off topic again. Why are you willing to defy Odin?”

“Odin hasn’t been the same since the convergence,” Sif replied, shifting in the front seat, she looked uncomfortable in the confined space of the car, “There are a few of us dedicated to monitoring his actions, intervening if necessary. Keep him from making rash decisions after the loss of his wife.”

“Kidnapping me is a rash decision?” Skye cried, finally pulling herself from Ward’s embrace.

“We have seen the cost of trying to take an Eir against their will before,” Sif sighed, “Those of us who wish to protect Asgard do not want a repeat of our last attempt. Your father has remained neutral in his exile, taking you could change that neutrality and not in our favour.”

“So my child and I are bargaining chips,” Skye replied, unsure whether to feel angry or annoyed.

Ward put a hand on Skye’ shoulder, “Calm down, Skye. Stress isn’t good for either of you.”

“Oh, Shut up, Ward,” Skye snapped, “We’re dealing with my issues at the moment, not yours.”

Ward held his hands up in defeat, not wishing to anger the hacker further. He turned to Sif, “How exactly are you planning to keep Skye out of Asgard?”

Sif shrugged, “I am not sure, not yet. I hoped Phillip and his team would help. I did not think you would be in separate groups or that the girl would run so soon.”

“Your friend gave me a day and a half to join you or you’d come get me,” Skye snapped, “I wanted as big a head start as I could get.”

“Running is not an option,” Sif replied, “Odin will order you hunted down.”

“So what are my options, be a prisoner or a fugitive,” Skye cried, letting Ward pull her back into his embrace.

“Give me a day to find another option,” Sif responded, “There will be a time to run, I promise you that, it’s just not today. When the time for you to run does come I will help the best I can, as will those with which I stand against Odin with.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Ward warned, “Take it from someone who knows.”

“It’s only dangerous if I lose,” Sif shrugged, “And I don’t plan on losing.”

“No one does,” Ward replied, “You’re playing with my family’s lives here. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I’ve been doing this far longer than you’ve been alive, Grant Ward,” Sif replied, “And I am yet to betray my friends, unlike you.”

Ward was about to reply when he realized Skye hadn’t interrupted them. Looking down at the hacker he saw her entirely focused on her stomach, her face pale, “Skye, what’s wrong?”

Skye was trembling as she wrapped her arms around herself, “Something’s wrong,” She flinched, “It hurts.”

Skye now had Ward’s full attention, “The baby moving again?”

Skye shook her head, her panic and pain showing on her face, “No.” Suddenly she cried out in pain, wrapping her arms tighter around her stomach, “Something’s wrong, Grant,” Skye couldn’t hold back the tears.

Ward pushed the door open, ignoring the rain, “I’m getting you back to Simmons.”

Skye gripped his shirt, “What about hiding from the team?” Cringing as another wave of pain spread across her stomach.

Stepping out of the car Ward pulled Skye into his arms, “Not if it means putting you in danger.”

“I’ll take her,” Sif interjected, having joined Ward in the rain. Before Ward could object the warrior continued, “I’m faster than you and if I understand your current situation correctly your team mates may react violently before seeking answers.”

With Skye’s weak nod of approval Ward passed her into Sif arms. Pulling Skye’s jacket out of the car he covered her as best he could. Ward also pressed one of his burner phones into the hacker’s hand, “My number’s already in there, let me know what’s going on. I can’t lose either of you, not now.”

Skye nodded weakly in Sif’s arms, trying to hide the pain on her face, “About time you gave me your number.”

Giving Skye a kiss on the forehead Ward gave a weak smile, he hadn’t seen Skye that pale since she was shot, “I love you.” He didn’t wait for Skye to respond, he looked at Sif, “Get her to Simmons, she needs help now.”

“I will,” Sif replied, “And I will do my best to find another option.”

Ward had barely nodded in response before Sif disappeared into the rain. He stood there for a long time praying to whoever would listen that Skye and the baby were alright. It wasn’t until he got back into the car that Ward realized Sif hadn’t answered all of Skye’s questions, she had called Skye an Eir but had also mentioned the Vanir in passing, just as Sir had. He wasn’t sure if Sif had ignored the question or just forgotten to answer it. Ward needed answers about Skye’s past but more importantly he wanted answers about her future.

As the sun was rising he grabbed a heavy rain jacket and his phone, ignoring the lightning Ward climbed to one of his lookout points, he would stand watch until he knew both the woman he loved and their child were okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would be nice to get some more comments, they remind me to update


	46. Confutation

Simmons was surprised that she managed to get some sleep after the Asgardians had left. She hadn’t wanted to but Coulson had ordered the team to try and get some rest, that they would discuss Skye’s situation in the morning. So Simmons had helped the hacker to bed and was actually asleep as soon as she hit her own pillow. Simmons wasn’t surprised to find Skye gone from her bed, the hacker probably hadn’t been able to get a minute of sleep.

The sun was just starting to rise when Simmons left the room she shared with Skye. The rest of the team was already seated around the dining table when she walked into the common area.

Coulson looked up and gave the biochemist a weak smile, “Skye still asleep?”

Panic appeared across Simmons’ face as she shook her head, “No. I thought she was already up. She’s not in our room.”

In almost a single movement the entire team jumped to their feet.

“You didn’t get her to bed?” Coulson asked, doing a good job of hiding his fear.

“Of course I did,” Simmons snapped. Looking at the clock the biochemist realized it was six in the morning, “But that was almost four hours ago.” She turned to May, “You were on guard duty, didn’t you see anything?”

May shook her head, “But I was looking for signs of the Asgardians arriving not Skye leaving.”

Fitz looked doubtful, “Are you saying Skye left of her own free will? Why would she do that?”

“Hold up,” Coulson interrupted, “We don’t know for sure that Skye’s gone. All we know is that she’s not here and she’s not in her room. We still have an entire base to check out before we panic.” He paused, letting his words sink in, “FitzSimmons, you check the labs. May double check the Bus and I’ll check the rest of the base. Trip, you can double check the house.”

The team nodded in understanding and hurried to their assigned location. However Fitz, Coulson, May and Simmons had barely reached the stairs when Trip yelled for them to come back. They all sprinted back to the kitchen, hearing the panic in the specialist’s voice. When they arrived back in the kitchen Trip was staring out the window, they all hurried to see what he was looking at.

Sif was running through the rain, Skye in her arms.

Coulson was the first to react, running outside to meet Sif as she made her way onto the porch.

“Son of Coul,” Sif called, “Your friend requires medical attention.”

When Coulson was close enough the Asgardian passed Skye into his arms.

The second Skye was out of Sif’s reach May pinned the warrior against the wall, “What did you do?”

“She ran, I followed. Nothing more,” Sif insisted, “When I caught up with her she complained of pain. I offered to escort her back here and she collapsed on the way.”

“There’s more to it than that,” May replied, keeping Sif against the wall.

“Much,” Sif agreed, “But none of it matters at this moment. Just know I did the girl no harm.”

Loosening her grip May nodded, “You’ll stay until Skye confirms that.”

“Very well,” Sif nodded.

During Sif and May’s confutation Coulson had carried Skye inside. Noticing the older man was struggling Trip quickly manoeuvred Skye into his arms and carried the hacker into the labs. Coulson walked with him while FitzSimmons ran ahead. May remained upstairs with Sif.

Once inside the lab Trip carefully lowered Skye on to the bench then quickly took a step back as Simmons entered full doctor mode, even Fitz didn’t dare interrupt Simmons when she was this focused.

At first Simmons ignored the others as she peeled of Skye’s soaking wet clothes, she had to admit that Skye had layered well, meaning she had probably left the house of her own free will. Unwilling to undress Skye completely in front of the others Simmons left the hacker in her shirt and shorts but even hidden beneath multiple layers they were still soaking wet. Rolling Skye’s shirt up, revealing Skye’s growing stomach, Simmons held her breath when she saw the large black and blue bruise spreading across the hacker’s stomach. Trip, Coulson and Fitz also saw the bruise and were less able to hide their response.

Coulson was the first to speak, “What happed?”

“I don’t know,” Simmons replied, continuing to check Skye over. Suddenly looking up, Simmons looked at Coulson, trying to hide the fear in her eyes, “I need you all to leave. I can’t work with you all looking over my shoulder.”

Coulson nodded, shooing Trip and Fitz out of the room. He then turned back to Simmons, “Will she be alright?”

Simmons gave a weak nod, “Skye should be fine.”

Coulson could read between the lines, “And the baby?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Simmons replied, “I’ll do my best but I can’t promise anything.”

Coulson nodded, leaving Simmons alone with Skye do her work.

When he made it back upstairs Coulson joined the team in the common area, they were all seated on the lounge, Sif stood against the wall and all of them were silent.

May looked up when Coulson walked in, “How is she?”

Coulson shrugged, “Simmons is doing her best.”

“Any idea what’s going on?” Trip asked.

Coulson shook his head, “No.” He then looked at Sif in the corner of the room, “But I’m going to find out.” He walked over to the Asgardian, “What happened?”

“As I told Melinda May the girl ran, shortly after we arrived, I followed her to the river. When I caught up with her we talked for a while,” Sif looked slightly guilty at having lied to May before, but continued, “Eventually she complained of pain at which time I offered to escort her back here to medical facilities. However on the trip back she collapsed, so I carried her.”

Coulson took a step forward, not caring that Asgardian warrior could easily escape if she chose to, “Did you hurt her?”

“No,” Sif replied simply.

“I saw the bruise,” Couslon replied, “I don’t have a medical degree but my guess is that she took a serious blow to the stomach. Are you saying neither you nor your friends did that?”

“I did not harm the girl,” Sif insisted.

“I believe her,” Simmons’ voice came from behind them.

Coulson span to face the biochemist, before he could speak Simmons held her hands up and spoke first, “She’s fine, for now. They’re both fine, for now.” The looked like they were ready to run down into the labs but Simmons blocked them, “Just let her get some rest,” Simmons insisted, “There’s still some danger for both Skye and the baby, the more rest she gets the safer they’ll both be.”

The entire team nodded weakly, settling back on to the lounge.

Sif had remained silent since Simmons arrived but spoke up in the team’s silence, “You believe I did not harm the girl?”

Simmons nodded, “I do,” She glanced quickly at Coulson before continuing, “Skye told me earlier that the baby was being extra active. Even if he got a light tap to the stomach, say brushing a tree branch or tripping in the rain, the baby’s activity could have accelerated any small damage. The baby just had to move a millimetre in the wrong direction.”

May turned to Sif, “Looks like you’re free to go.”

Sif nodded and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Simmons called, “You can’t take Skye.”

The team froze, knowing Simmons was treading in dangerous waters. Sif, however, only looked at Simmons, “We have our orders.”

“Odin wants Skye and the baby alive doesn’t he?” Simmons asked.

“He does,” Sif nodded, slightly confused by Simmons’ words.

“Then he’s going to have to wait until the baby is born,” Simmons replied, “The baby certainly won’t survive a trip through your portal and there is a chance Skye wouldn’t survive losing the baby.” Simmons looked at Sif, determination in her eyes, “If your king wants Skye he’s just going to have to wait.”

The entire team expected Sif to argue, but she simply nodded, “Very well. I shall inform the others, we shall discuss it.”

Before anyone on the team could respond Sif turned and left the house.

Coulson turned to Simmons, “Did you just lie?”

Simmons shook her head, “No. At the moment Skye and the baby would be lucky to survive a trip on the Bus, let alone a trip to another world.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Fitz asked weakly.

Simmons shrugged, “Let her rest and when she wakes up try to limit her stress.”

Trip nodded, “Can we please see her?”

Simmons nodded, finally stepping out of the way of the team, “Just don’t wake her.”

The entire team hurried past Simmons into the labs below.

Alone in the common area Simmons pulled out the item she’d found on Skye. Coulson had taken all their phones back at the Playground, so she had to wonder what Skye was doing with one.


	47. Secrets Kept

The last thing Skye remembered was the pain. She barely remembered leaving Ward’s arms but Skye definitely remembered his words to her, even through the haze caused by the pain she heard his words but before she could reply Sif had left Ward behind. As they ran through the rain another wave of pain had hit and everything went black.

Slowly coming around, the first thing Skye heard was the beeping of a heart monitor but it was slightly different ones she’d heard before. Slowly opening her eyes Skye recognized the lab. The tearing pain in her stomach was gone but there was still a dull ache. Turning her head Skye aw the monitors, there were two, one connected to her finger, measuring Skye’s own heart beat and the other monitor was connected to her stomach, measuring the baby’s heartbeat. Skye felt an enormous weight lift off her shoulders when she realized the second monitor meant the baby was okay.

“Skye?” Simmons’ voice came from behind Skye.

Skye just groaned in response.

Simmons appeared in Skye’s peripheral vision, the biochemist gave a weak smile, “Try not to move.”

Skye looked up at the biochemist, “I wasn’t planning to.” She couldn’t even summon a weak smile, “What happened?”

Simmons took a seat next to Skye, “What do you remember?”

Skye paused before answering, careful not to mention Ward, “Talking to Sif and then pain. The baby?”

“The baby’s fine,” Simmons assured, she placed a hand on the hacker’s shoulder and sighed, “But you’re not out of the woods yet.”

Skye just looked at Simmons, “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

Simmons sighed again, “Do you remember falling or hitting your stomach?”

Skye paused, thinking back to when she had snuck out of the house, she shook her head weakly, “Not that I remember but everything’s fuzzy, I could have. Why?”

Simmons paused briefly, “Maybe I should wait for the others to come back.”

Skye looked away from the biochemist, finally taking in the room, “Where are they?”

“Having dinner,” Simmons replied, “I volunteered to watch you while they ate.”

“Dinner?” Skye sighed, “I was out that long?”

Simmons just nodded weakly.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Skye and it took all of her strength not to sit up, “The Asgardians? They’ll be coming for me at sun rise.”

“It’s okay,” Simmons assured, squeezing Skye’s shoulder, “They’re not going to take you anywhere. Not anytime soon at least.”

Skye raised an eyebrow, “What did you tell them?”

“The Truth,” Skye sighed.

“What’s going on?” Skye asked, panic rising.

Suddenly the monitor next to Skye started beeping rapidly. Simmons jumped up, “Skye I need you to calm down. Just breathe.”

Skye took a deep breath and the monitor returned to normal but she couldn’t take the panic from her eyes, “What’s going on, Simmons? What’s wrong with my baby?”

“I need you stay calm,” Simmons repeated.

“I’ll be calm when you answer my question,” Skye snapped.

Simmons sighed again, retaking her seat next to Skye, “You have some damage to your abdominal area.”

“The baby?” Skye asked.

“Is fine,” Simmons assured, “But you’re both still in danger. So you’re not getting out of bed for the next week and if possible the next two weeks. After that you’re on light duty until the baby’s born. That means not over exerting yourself and no stress.”

Fear was evident on Skye’s face, “How much danger are we in?”

“A lot,” Simmons answered truthfully, “But keep calm, stay rested and you should be fine.”

Skye looked away from Simmons, no longer willing to meet her gaze, “I wanted to save you all and instead I put my child in danger. I’m a horrible mother.”

“No,” Simmons answered quickly, “You did what you thought was best, it’s what mothers do.”

Skye nodded weakly, not entirely convinced, “If I’m going to spend the next week in bed can it a least be in my own bed?”

Simmons actually gave a genuine smile, “I’ll get Trip to carry you up later, okay?”

“I can walk,” Skye argued.

“No you can’t,” Simmons replied simply, she then stood up, “I’ll let the others know you’re awake.”

“Wait,” Skye called before Simmons left the room, “What about the Asgardians? Are they taking me or not?”

“Odin wants you and the baby alive,” Simmons replied, “I told Sif that you and the baby wouldn’t survive an inter-dimensional trip and to come back once the baby’s born.”

“You brought me three months?” Skye asked.

“The best I could do,” Simmons shrugged, “But it gives us time to find another option.” She gave the hacker a weak smile, “Don’t worry we won’t let them take you, no matter what.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Skye muttered as Simmons left the room.

Shifting slightly Skye pulled the pads that connected the heart monitor to her stomach, for the first time noticing the large bruise that ran across her abdomen. She carefully placed a hand on her stomach, “I’m sorry baby, you tried to tell me something was wrong and I didn’t listen, I promise I’ll try better.”

Suddenly the door to the lab opened and Skye gave a half smile as the rest of the team spilled into the lab, “Hey, guys, are you here to spring me?”

Coulson smiled, “Simmons says you’re on bed rest for the foreseeable future, so you’re not going anywhere.”

“But Simmons said I could rest in my room,” Skye wined, “This bench is uncomfortable.”

Coulson turned to Simmons, “Did you say she could leave?”

Simmons looked a little guilty, “I may have told her that as long as one of you carried her and she didn’t walk there then she could rest in her own bed.”

Skye smiled at Coulson, “I believe Trip was specifically mentioned,” Pulling off the last of the wires, Skye turned to Trip and held out her arms, “So if you don’t mind…”

Trip looked at Simmons and Coulson and when they both nodded he moved over to Skye carefully the hacker into his arms.

As Trip carried her upstairs Skye smiled, “If you drop me I’ll sue.”

Trip just smiled. Once in the room Skye and Simmons shared he carefully lowered Skye into her own bed, “Better?” He asked.

Skye smiled and nodded, “Yeah. Thanks.”

The others had followed the hacker and specialist upstairs. Skye smiled at the concern on their faces, “I’m fine. Stop worrying about me.”

Coulson looked down at Skye, “We’d stopped worrying if you stopped putting yourself in danger.” He sighed, “What were you thinking? Running away is bad enough but running away in the middle of a storm is just plain stupid.”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” Skye mumbled.

“Skye…” Simmons sighed.

“Can we just agree I was stupid and move on?” Skye sighed, she saw the way the team looked at her, “Can I just have some time alone please?”

Coulson looked around at the team but nodded, “Okay. Call if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” Skye smiled weakly, “Can I talk to Simmons for a second?”

Simmons looked a little shocked but smiled, “Sure.”

The rest of the team shuffled out of the room. Leaving Skye and Simmons alone.

Before Simmons could speak Skye did, shifting slightly in her bed, “Where is it?”

Simmons crossed her arms, “Where’s what?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Skye snapped, “You would have been the one to undress me, meaning you were the one that found it and seeing as Coulson didn’t ask me about it I’m guessing you didn’t tell him.” She sighed, “So I ask again, where is it?”

Simmons reached into her pocket and pulled out the phone. She passed it to Skye, “What are you doing with a phone?”

“I haven’t done anything,” Skye shrugged, “It’s just in case.” Simmons looked doubtful so Skye continued, “Check the call and text log if you want. I haven’t done anything. It’s an in case of emergency kind of thing and I thought running away was an emergency. If I got far enough way I was going to call and let you all know I was okay.”

“You’re not a spy?” Simmons asked.

Skye smiled, “No,”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.” Skye assured.

“In case of emergency?” Simmons asked.

“Yes,” Skye answered simply.

“You promise?”

“I promise,” Skye answered.

“Get some rest and I won’t tell Coulson,” Simmons glared down at Skye.

Skye smiled, “Thanks.”

“Bed rest for at least a week, preferably two” Simmons ordered.

“Yes ma’am.”

Simmons nodded, “I’ll let you rest then.”

“Thanks.”

Simmons left the room silently, leaving Skye alone in bed.

Knowing that calling Ward was a bad idea Skye sent a simple message instead, **_We r OK_** _._

There was an instant reply, **_R u sure?_**

Skye smiled, even from a distance Skye could sense Ward’s concern, **_Bed rest 4 2 wks. Light duty after_** _._

Ward replied quickly again, **_No more visits_**.

Skye sighed before replying, she saw it as an order but answered it as a question, **_Being watched like a hawk_**. Before Ward could reply again Skye sent another message, **_Simmons found phone_**.

**_Does she know?_** Ward asked.

**_No_ , **Skye text simply.

**_Sif?_** Ward asked.

**_Back in 3 months_** , Skye texted back, wondering if it was actually true or if the Asgardians would still come for her in the morning despite Simmons’ warning.

**_We’ll think of something_** , Ward replied quickly. When Skye didn’t answer quickly he sent another message, **_R u sure u r both ok?_**

**_We will b_** , Skye answered.

**_How can I help?_ **

Skye knew what she wanted to say, that she wanted him here with her and given her and the baby’s condition Ward would probably come but she wasn’t sure he was actually ready to come back or that the team was ready to have him back, especially as the father of her child.

**_I’ll let u know._ **


	48. Messages

**_I’ll let u know_ **

Ward looked down at the phone in his hand, he honestly didn’t know how to respond. Ward thought that Skye would ask him to come back to the team again and at this point is she had asked he would have come running. So when Skye didn’t ask he was slightly disappointed but was sure the hacker had her reasons. It took him a while but Ward sent back the only response he could think of:

**_I’ll let u get some rest._ **

Ward smiled weakly at Skye’s response, **_Miss u 2_**

Pocketing the phone Ward climbed down from the lookout point he had spent the entire day at. He had barely moved since Sif had taken Skye back to the team, the rain had cleared around midday but Ward hadn’t even moved to get dry clothes. There wasn’t much to see from his perch, the team had spent the entire day inside the house while the Asgardians had set up camp and stayed there but sill Ward hadn’t wanted to move until he was sure Skye and the baby were okay.

Finally back on solid ground Ward made his way back to his camp. It had been flooded during the night, the downside of camping near the river so there was a lot of work to do cleaning up. Ward was glad he had packed up his tent before moving into the car because there was now a rather large branch where his tent used to be. Ward figured there was no point setting up his tent again, it looked like it might rain again later and Ward was willing to spend another night in his car if it meant he wasn’t crushed by a tree.

After finally changing out of his wet clothes Ward felt a lot better, especially after retrieving his gun from the mud outside the car. Taking a sear in the car, leaving the door open, Ward began to clean the mud from the gun. Ward was almost finished when he heard the sound he had dreaded hearing since Paris, the phone Sir had given Ward was ringing.

Ward picked up the phone, carefully revealing its hiding place, “Hello?”

“I hear you have some visitors,” Sir’s voice came out of the phone.

“How did…? Never mind,” Ward asked, “I’m dealing with it.”

“How?”

“Do you really care?” Ward asked, not even trying to hide the contempt in his voice.

“I wouldn’t be calling you if I didn’t,” Sir replied, his contempt obvious even over the phone.

“You don’t care about Skye,” Ward snapped, “You only care about the idea of her. You want to protect the idea of your family, that’s all.”

“How dare you.” Sir growled.

“How dare I? How dare you,” Ward almost yelled down the phone, “You’re using your own daughter as a bargaining chip. You’re not neutral, you just want everyone else to this you are.”

“I was once,” Sir sighed, the sound echoing down the phone, “Times change.”

There was silence for a moment and Ward wondered if Sir expected a response, if he did he wasn’t getting one.

Sir spoke again, breaking the awkward silence, “If you know about my neutrality then you must have spoken to the Asgardians.”

Ward could have kicked himself for slipping up but still responded, “One of them.”

“Why?”

“I was trying to save your daughter,” Not a complete lie from Ward.

“By discussing terms with her enemies?” Sir hissed.

“They’re your enemies not hers,” Ward replied, trying to keep his voice even, “They wouldn’t even be after her if it wasn’t for you.”

“She’s my daughter, my blood. She wouldn’t even exist without me,” Sir spat.

Ward rolled his eyes at Sir’s words but his anger didn’t evaporate, “The Asgardians thought she was dead and if you hadn’t blundered around looking for her they still would.”

“Are you blaming me for this?” Sir yelled over the phone.

“Who else should I blame?” Ward yelled back, “Because it sure as hell isn’t my fault.”

“Blame those who wish to do me harm,” Sir replied.

“So you admit this is about you?” Ward asked, “I’ve worked for men like you before, never again. I will protect Skye because I want to, because I need to not because you asked me to.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Ward,” Sir growled, “If you test me I will come and take my daughter from your protection.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Ward smirked, fully aware that Sir couldn’t see him, “Someone recently told me that the game is only dangerous if you lose and I’m not going to lose. I’m going to protect Skye or I’m going to be dead, it’s that simple. I’m dealing with the Asgardians so Skye is still safe here and as long as she is safe I will not let you take her.”

“You don’t seem to understand my position,” Sir growled.

“I understand completely,” Ward growled back, “You don’t understand mine. You will get Skye over my dead body.”

“If that is what is required then that is what will happen.”

The line went dead and Ward threw the phone across the clearing shattering it against a tree. _Good_ , Ward thought, _one less person to deal with_.

Pulling his other phone out of his pocket Ward sent a quick message:

**_We have a problem._ **


	49. Long Day

Coulson was not having what most would call a good day. After being woken long before dawn by the Asgardians he’d barely been able to get back to sleep after they had left in fear for Skye. When Coulson had finally given up on sleep he’d aged ten years after discovering Skye was gone and probably aged another five when he’d seen Skye’s condition. Coulson had barely left the hacker’s side the entire day, only for food and bathroom breaks and it had been during one of his brief breaks that Skye had woken up. The girl had barely spoken to him since, only sharing a few brief sentences before asking to be left alone with Simmons, so the team had left the hacker and biochemist alone. Simmons had left the room a couple of minutes later, telling everyone that Skye was getting some much needed rest and to leave her be for now. Even the clueless Fitz could tell that Simmons wasn’t being entirely honest but when pressed for details the biochemist had clamped her mouth shut and hurried way. Everyone else had remained silent and the team quickly dispersed after Simmons’ departure.

Now it was almost midnight and Coulson was sitting alone in his office on the Bus wondering if Simmons was actually going to come and confess about what was really going on with Skye. He’d actually been slightly impressed that Simmons had kept the secret of Skye’s pregnancy for as long as she did but something had told Coulson that this time was different and the biochemist wouldn’t wait quite as long before breaking down and telling the truth or even slipping up enough for Coulson to guess the rest.

So when a knock did come Coulson actually smiled to himself, “Come on in Simmons.”

Simmons opened the door, looking somewhat sheepish, “How did you know it was me, sir?”

Coulson shrugged, “I figured you’d be coming to see me sooner or later and this late at night it would only be you or May and May wouldn’t have knocked.”

“If you say so,” Simmons replied.

“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Coulson asked, getting straight to the point.

“I don’t know,” Simmons answered, “I promised Skye I wouldn’t say anything.”

“Yet here you are,” Coulson stated, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, sir,” Simmons nodded weakly, looking down at her own feet.

When Simmons didn’t continue Coulson tried a different approach, “Is Skye okay?”

Simmons looked up, “Yes, sir. It has nothing to do with Skye’s health or the baby’s. As long as she rests and doesn’t do anything too stressful then they should both be fine.”

“Good,” Coulson nodded, “So if it isn’t to do with her health, what does it have to do with?”

Simmons remained silent for a minute until she suddenly broke, “Skye has a phone.” Simmons blurted it out, clamping a hand over her mouth the second after she did so, a second too late to keep the words in.

Coulson blinked a few times then suddenly laughed, “That’s what’s got you so worried?”

“Yes, sir,” Simmons replied, looking at Coulson as if he’d grown an extra head, “I don’t understand, you don’t seem worried. You took our phones for a reason.”

“I did,” Coulson agreed, finally stopping his laughter, “And it wouldn’t have surprised me in the slightest if Skye got another one in London the first chance she got.”

“You’re not worried?” Simmons asked.

“Has she used it yet?” Coulson asked, crossing his arms.

“No,” Simmons replied, shaking her head, “But…”

“Does she plan to?” Coulson cut in.

“She says it’s in case of emergency,” Simmons answered.

“And do you believe her?” Coulson asked.

“Yes,” Simmons answered simply this time.

Coulson looked Simmons up and down, “So what’s the problem?”

“Skye broke the rules,” Simmons cried, “She has a phone.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow, “Do you trust Skye?”

“Completely.”

“Do you think she would call anyone or send any messages that could hurt the team?” Coulson asked.

“Not on purpose,” Simmons replied.

“Don’t you think Skye’s smart enough to encrypt any messages she does send?” Coulson asked, looking at the biochemist.

“I guess,” Simmons sighed, “But it doesn’t change the fact that she has a phone when you said we couldn’t.”

“I never said you couldn’t have a phone,” Coulson shrugged, “Just that we were better off if you didn’t and the ones issued by SHIELD were no longer safe. I have a phone and it wouldn’t surprise me if May still has one. So as long as Skye’s remains an ‘in case of emergency’ one I don’t need to hear about it.”

“Yes, sir,” Simmons replied.

“That being said, if you could check from time to time to make sure it isn’t being used that would be great,” Coulson ordered.

Simmons looked slightly uncomfortable at the request but nodded in response.

“Good,” Coulson smiled, “Now why don’t you go get some sleep. God knows we all need it.”

Simmons turned to leave then turned back, “Speaking of gods, how sure are we that the Asgardians won’t be coming for Skye at sun rise?”

“Fitz didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Simmons asked, slightly confused.

“Sif returned during dinner,” Coulson answered, “They’re returning home for now and will return when the baby’s born.”

“So we’ve got three months to come up with a plan to save Skye?”

“Pretty much,” Coulson nodded.

“Any ideas?” Simmons asked.

“No,” Coulson answered truthfully, “But I’ve got three months to find one. Now get some rest.”

“Yes, sir,” Simmons answered, this time when she turned she actually left the room.

Waiting a few moments to make sure the biochemist didn’t return Coulson picked up his own phone and dialled a number he’d been hoping to avoid calling for as long as possible.

The phone was picked up quickly on the other side, “Who is this and how did you get this number?”

Coulson smiled to himself, “Nice to hear from you too, Hill.”

“Coulson,” Maria Hill growled on the other end of the line, “What do you want?”

“I can’t call to check up on an old friend?” Coulson asked.

“No,” Hill replied simply.

Coulson sighed, “I need a favour.”

“Of course you do,” Maria sighed, “Okay. What is it?”

Coulson paused for a second before continuing, “Are you still in New York?”

“I am.”

“Still working for Stark?” Coulson asked.

“Unfortunately,” Maria replied, her dislike for the billionaire showing in her voice even over the phone.

“Any chance he can contact Thor?” Coulson asked hesitantly.

Maria paused before answering, “Thor’s here, Coulson, in New York.”

Coulson sat up straighter, “Really?”

“Really,” Maria answered, “So what’s this favour, considering you asked about Thor it obviously involves him.”

“I need some information. No questions asked.” Coulson answered simply.

“No questions asked?” Maria sighed, her annoyance evident even over the phone. She paused for a second before sighing again, “Okay, Coulson, just for you, no questions asked. What information do you need?”

“Ask Thor for everything he knows about an Eir, I believe it was called. And move importantly why his father is so interested in one of them,” Coulson asked, not entirely sure he should be telling Maria any of this.

“Okay, I’ll try,” Maria agreed, “No promises though.”

“All I ask is that you try,” Coulson replied.

“I’ll let you know,” Maria answered.

“You can reach me at this number,” Coulson told the former deputy director.

“Okay,” Was all Maria Hill said before she hung up.

Putting the phone away Coulson left his office and headed back up to the house. It was finally time for bed, it had been a very long day after all.


	50. Looking in a Mirror

It had been almost two weeks since Ward had received the call from Sir and almost two weeks since Ward had seen Skye. They had exchanged several messages in that time, so Ward knew that both Skye and the baby were alright just stuck inside the house under the watchful eyes of Simmons. The Asgardians had left in the early hours of the morning after Skye had sent him the first messages, thankfully without Skye. They were yet to return so Ward did believe Sif was keeping her word, at least for now.

Ward had spent the last two weeks worried that the Asgardians would return for Skye or even worse that Sir would send someone to try and take her away. Ward was thankful for the fact that as far as he could tell Sir did not know of Skye’s pregnancy, otherwise he would have, he would have made an attempt weeks ago.

For the last two weeks Ward had also thought that the team would move one, especially since they knew their base had been compromised but Skye had made it clear in the last of her messages that the team wasn’t going anywhere, at least not until the baby was born. Ward had received this last message from Skye a little under a week ago, her phone had died shortly after and Ward was kicking himself that he hadn’t thought to give her the charger as well.

Ward had spent the last two weeks waiting for the other shoe to drop. So when it came he was ready.

Their first mistake was trying to make their approach from across the river. If they had just been up against the team the trees would have hidden their approach to the house for far longer than if they had approached from the road. However Ward had spent over ten weeks getting to know the terrain around the river, there was no root, low hanging branch or patch of mud he didn’t know about. There was three of them but Ward only recognized one, one of them was part of the group that had attacked Skye in London, which at least told Ward that they were working for Sir, even if he didn’t recognize the other two. Ward was slightly thankful that Sir had not chosen to join them, three humans he could deal with while even one of whatever Sir was Ward wasn’t so sure about.

Their second mistake was splitting up, once again if they had just been facing the team it would have been a good idea because it reduced their chances of getting seen and even if one or even two of them were seen there was the chance that the unseen ones could complete the mission. However when facing Grant Ward splitting up just meant they were easier to take down.

The first one was the easiest to take down. Ward had spent almost five years of his life in a forest waiting for Garrett to tell him he was ready, during that time Ward had taught himself to track and trap the animals in that forest. Time had not diminished those skills, only changed the reason for using them. Sir’s first follower found himself hanging from a tree by his feet and the blow he sustained to the head was enough to knock him out but not enough to kill him. Ward left him dangling there, arms also bound as he moved on to the others invading the forest.

The second of Sir’s minions wasn’t that much harder to take out than the first. Ward briefly wondered if he should be having second thoughts about hitting a girl but when she didn’t glance back even once, entirely focused on her goal Ward decided she could be the most dangerous of three if let anywhere near Skye. A single blow to the back of the head took her down without a sound. Binding the woman carefully Ward left her in the mud and went in search of the final threat.

The final invader standing Ward had deliberately left for last, he was one of the men who had attacked Skye in London. Ward told himself that this wasn’t about revenge, it was about the fact that out of the three he was the most likely to have some answers. The man was caught the same way Ward had taken down the first, a trap that left him hanging upside down from a tree, only this time Ward made sure he wasn’t knocked unconscious. The man was left hanging there for a couple of minutes, struggling to escape the trap while Ward watched, still telling himself it wasn’t about revenge. When the man finally stopped trying to reach his own feet and let himself go limp Ward just waved when the man realized he was standing there.

“Are you going you let me down?” The man asked.

Ward just shook his head.

“You’re the one Sir warned us about?”

Ward nodded.

“You’ve already taken care of the others, haven’t you?” The man asked still hanging from the tree.

Ward nodded again.

“Are you going to let us leave alive?”

Ward shrugged, he wasn’t going to kill them but they didn’t need to know that.

“How long are you going leave me here?” The man asked.

Ward shrugged again, hiding a smile he knew would be forming.

“You want answers about the girl?” The man asked, desperation in his voice.

Ward took a step forward, arms crossed. He raised an eyebrow, his way of telling the man to tlut

“I don’t know why Sir want her,” The man cried, “We follow his orders and we don’t ask why.”

Ward just raised an eyebrow again, silently asking a question of the man.

“Why?” The man cried, almost laughing, still struggling against his bonds, “Because he saved our lives, we owe him.”

Ward stood there, thinking about how he used to be like this man, like all those who had come after Skye in Sir’s name.

The man looked slightly confused at Ward’s silence, “Are you going to me down now?”

Ward took a step forward, “What’s your name?”

The man looked slightly hopeful, “Nathanial.”

Nathanial continued to have that hopeful look until Ward knocked him unconscious with a single punch.

After sending a quick message to Fury to arrange for a pickup of the prisoners Ward looked at the unconscious man still hanging from a tree, “Maybe you can find clarity the same way I did Nathanial.”


	51. Hail HYDRA

Over the next five weeks Sir sent three more team to try and take Skye and Ward managed to capture one of them and sent the other two running, giving them more than enough reason not to come back. Unable to learn anything of use from the captured team he sent them on to Fury, who, as far as he was willing to tell Ward, was only able to learn of their unwavering loyalty to Sir.

In the past five weeks Ward had been unable to see Skye in person, only able to watch her from a distance. The hacker had obviously moved from her bed rest phase onto light duty but she was always in sight of a least one of the other members of the team and without the phone they were unable to pass messages. Ward had noticed that Skye at least tried to leave the house at least once a day, even if she only managed to make it on to the porch. Despite the fact that Ward desperately wanted to actually talk to Skye the little glimpses were what got him through, what reminded him what he was fighting for. He wondered if that’s why Skye made the trips, to remind him of what he was missing.

The rain had stopped long ago so Ward spent most of his time at his look out points. In fact some nights he slept there, still attached to the tree. The lookout points provided Ward with a view of both the house and the other side of the forest, the place most of Sir’s minions made their approach from.

Unfortunately Sir’s minions weren’t the only ones Ward had to worry about. Somehow the other worlds; Muspelheim, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, Nifleheim, Svartalfheim and Helheim, had learned of Skye’s location, about what she was. They had yet to come themselves but they had long ago learned the art of hiring humans to do their dirty work, the men they sent weren’t coming to capture Skye they were coming to kill her and still Ward couldn’t bring himself to kill them. They didn’t come as often as Sir’s minions did but they still came every so often. Ward was dealing with them, but only just.

It was early in the morning, just after sunrise, when Ward saw the figure approaching the forest, no doubt something else trying to make an unseen approach to the house. After making a brief check on the house, to make sure Skye wasn’t on one of her trips outside, Ward made his way down to ground level. Months of practise meant he was untangled from his harness and fully armed within seconds of reaching the ground.

The man had just entered the forest by the time Ward caught up with him. Approaching from behind Ward drew his gun and called out, “That’s far enough.” The man span around and Ward momentarily froze, only years of training stopped him from dropping his gun in surprise, “I know you.”

The man hid his surprise well, snapping to attention instead, “Yes sir.”

Ward took a step forward, his gun never wavering, “You were with Garrett at the barber shop?”

“Yes sir,” Suddenly the man, who Ward realized was barely more than a boy, snapped his arms out in a very familiar salute, “Hail HYDRA.”

“Put those arms down, boy,” Ward snapped, realizing the safest cause of action to get this man away was to play along and pretend he was still loyal to HYDRA, not that he over was, “Why are you here?”

“Orders, sir,” The man replied, still standing at attention.

For the life of him Ward couldn’t remember the man’s name, he was just another one of Garrett’s soldiers, no doubt serving a new master since Garret’s death but Ward knew he could use this to his advantage. As far as the man knew Ward was still HYDRA and was still his superior officer. Ward was going to use that to his advantage, “I didn’t think they were stupid enough to send someone else, let alone someone like.”

“Sir?” The man looked confused.

“I am working this one alone,” Ward said, lowering her gun, “You are going to return to your superiors and tell them you found nothing, that this was a dead end.”

“You want me to lie?” The man asked, still confused.

“I’m sure you’re capable of it,” Ward snapped, “But no, you’re not going to lie. There is nothing here. This is a dead end.”

“Then why are you here?” The man asked, then added quickly, “Sir.”

“I have my orders too,” Ward replied, trying to keep his voice even, “From people higher up then you’re receiving yours from. No one can know I am here. Understand?”

“Yes sir,” The man snapped to attention again.

“There’s nothing here. I’m not here.”

“Yes sir,” The man snapped again.

“Good,” Ward nodded, “Now leave before I decide that shooting you is a better way of keeping my cover intact.”

“Yes sir,” The man snapped again before scurrying away, only turning around to give Ward another salute, “Hail HYDRA.”

Ward just glared at the man, encouraging him to move on quickly.

Once he had made sure the man had left the forest, in the same direction he came from and left it far behind Ward let out a sigh of relief but his panic didn’t completely disappear. HYDRA was just another group of people who were coming after those he cared about. Another group of people Ward had to stop.

Ward wondered if Coulson knew how badly his base had been compromised.


	52. Soon

It had been a little over seven weeks since Skye had seen Ward, since the night she’d needed Sif’s help to make it back to the team. In those seven weeks Skye had been through a lot. For the first two weeks she was on bed rest, Simmons had barely allowed the hacker out of bed for bathroom breaks and actually going to the dining area to have meals with the team was out of the question. Skye would have gone crazy in the first week if it wasn’t for the texts from Ward but that hadn’t lasted long, the phone finally running out of battery within the week.

The second week had been torture, still stuck in bed and unable to contact Ward. Skye was meant to be staying calm but considering Ward had managed to warn her of her father’s likely arrival staying completely calm was difficult and had to lead to several stern conversations with Simmons over the past seven weeks, especially during the second week.

When she was finally allowed out of bed in the third week all Skye wanted to do was run to Ward but she knew that wasn’t an option. Simmons had informed the hacker that she wouldn’t be running anywhere, that even a light jog would be pushing it. However what was worse was the fact that Coulson had Skye under constant surveillance, she had at least one member of the team babysitting her at all time and after five weeks it was beginning to get annoying. It had taken all of Skye’s skill to convince Coulson to let her leave the house but even then the hacker had only been allowed as far as the porch. However Skye had taken what little freedom she was given and used it to her own advantage. She managed to make the trip outside at least once a day, just to give Ward a chance to see that both her and the baby were fine and the fresh air wasn’t exactly a downside either. Unfortunately over the last couple of days Skye had found it increasingly difficult to make the trip outside. At thirty weeks the baby was making even the most basic of tasks difficult, not to mention the constant bathroom breaks that made sitting outside for an extended period of time next to impossible but still Skye had made the trips outside deciding that after seven weeks this was the time Ward need to know they were okay the most.

One of the highlights of the last week was that Simmons had given Skye another ultrasound. Skye had held back tears at the sight of her baby and wishing that Ward had been there to see it too. Simmons had commented on the tears that the hacker had failed to hold in but Skye had blamed hormones and thankfully the biochemist had let the matter drop. Simmons had also offered to let Skye know the gender of the baby but Skye had wanted to be surprised but it still was a little awkward having Simmons knowing if she was having a boy or a girl and not knowing herself. Skye also wondered how long it would take the biochemist to tell her engineer boyfriend, who would no doubt let the secret slip out to the rest of the team before long. However Skye still wanted to be surprised, even if it was by Fitz slipping up during dinner, which was thankfully yet to happen.

Skye carried a copy of her latest ultrasound at all times, in fact she carried two. One so she could produce it on request for one of the team to comment on, surprisingly it was usually Trip or Coulson. The other picture she carried was one Skye hoped to be given the chance to slip to the baby’s father. Unfortunately the opportunity was yet to arise, she hoped today, however, might be her chance. It all depended on how observant Ward actually was.

Today was the first time in seven weeks that Skye had been allowed out further than the porch, in fact she allowed to actually go into town, even if it was under the watchful eyes of both Trip and Simmons, at least it wasn’t May. Skye had been surprised by the trip into town, apparently Simmons had managed to convince Coulson of need of items for the baby. Despite being surprised Skye was going to use the trip to her full advantage and Trip and Simmons would no doubt be able to slip away from for a couple of minutes than Coulson or May. The town wasn’t exactly busy, so there was no chance Skye could lose her shadows in a crowd, especially since Simmons’ idea of sticking close to Skye was to link their arms together as they walked down the street. At least Trip was chivalrous enough to take the shopping bags, which with Simmons in charge of the shopping list meant there was a lot.

They had almost finished Simmons’ list when Skye saw signs that Ward was around. It wasn’t much, mostly feelings and glimpses out of the corner of her eye but enough for the hacker to know it was him and not anyone else. In fact Skye was surprised Trip hadn’t noticed.

When Skye saw her opportunity to slip away she took it. Their last stop had a disabled toilet, meaning more than one person could fit in the cubicle without anyone noticing. It also had a solid door, meaning even with Simmons waiting outside the biochemist wouldn’t hear a thing. It didn’t take much to convince Simmons that she needed a bathroom break and the biochemist wasn’t as vigilant as May, Simmons didn’t feel the need to check every room before Skye went in.

Locking the door quickly Skye turned around, only to have Ward’s lips come crashing down on hers, Skye smiled when they pulled apart, “I’ve missed you.”

Ward smiled at Skye as he rested his head against hers, “I’ve missed you too,” He placed a hand on Skye’s stomach, “Both of you.”

Skye pulled back a bit, “We don’t have long. Simmons isn’t exactly patient.”

Ward smiled, “Are you okay?”

Skye nodded, “We’re both fine, Grant,” She looked up at the specialist, “What about you?”

Ward smiled, holding back a laugh, “What could possibly be wrong with me?”

Skye sighed, “Don’t lie to me, Ward. Not again.”

Ward smiled weakly, placing a hand on Skye’s cheek, “I’m fine, Skye. I’m always fine.”

“My father?” Skye asked weakly, “Has he come looking for me yet?”

Ward didn’t want to lie to Skye, so he didn’t, “No, not himself. But he had sent people. There has been a couple of other groups too, but mostly Sir’s.” Seeing the panic on Skye’s face Ward pulled her into a reassuring hug, “They’re not getting anywhere near you, I promise.”

“How can you promise that?” Skye hissed, afraid raising her voice would alert Simmons, “You can’t watch us twenty four seven, Grant. You need rest. You need help.”

Ward took a step back, pulling away from Skye, “I’m fine. I promise you.”

Skye shook her head, “You’re pushing yourself too hard. I just have to look at you to see that.”

“Skye…” Ward sighed, rubbing his eyes.

“No,” Skye interrupted, “You need help.” She paused before getting straight the point, “I think it’s time we brought the team in on this.” Before Ward could interrupt Skye starred him down, “Give me one reason why not?” When Ward just raised an eyebrow Skye actually smiled, “Besides that. I mean you’ve spent almost a year protecting all of us, that’s got to count for something. Not to mention you are this baby’s father.”

Ward was silent, taking Skye’s words in, then he nodded, “Okay.”

Skye was shocked, he hadn’t actually expected him to agree with her, “Okay? Seriously?” She asked, a smile spreading across her face.

Ward nodded again, sighing, “But give me some time, okay. Not today.”

“Okay,” Skye agreed, “But this baby’s is due in eight weeks and Simmons recons I might go into labour before that because of everything that’s been going on.” She smiled as she wrapped her arms around Ward’s neck, “So you’ve got until I’m in labour to come join the team, otherwise I’m telling them the truth and sending May to drag you back, okay?”

Ward nodded weakly again, “Okay?”

Skye smiled, finally pulling the ultrasound picture out and passing it to Ward, “To remind you what you’re fighting for.”

Ward smiled when he looked at the picture, “Are you sure you want this, Skye?”

Skye lent in and captured Ward’s lips with her own, when she pulled away she smiled, “There’s nothing I want more.”

“Okay,” Ward smiled. He walked over to the bag he had stashed in the corner of the room and pulled a cord out, which he passed to Skye, “For the phone.”

Skye almost laughed, “About time.”

Skye was about to continue when there was a knock at the door and Simmons’s voice called out, “Skye? Are you okay in there?”

“Fine,” Skye called back. She hurried over to the toilet and flushed it, running water from the tap to convince Simmons she’d actually used the facilities, “Just a second.”

Ward rolled his eyes, “We really need to stop meeting in bathrooms.”

Skye smiled, “Soon.”

Giving the specialist a quick kiss Skye motioned for him to hide behind the door as he had in Rome. Ward rolled his eyes again but complied.

Slipping back into the store Skye gave Simmons a reassuring smile, one she couldn’t help but let grow at the thought of Ward. Soon she and Ward could actually be together, as a family. Soon.


	53. Too Late

It was another four weeks until Ward managed to get the courage to even think about re-joining the team, let alone do anything about it. It wasn’t that Ward just avoided the topic, it was that he hadn’t had the free time to actually think about anything besides stopping the attacks meant to capture or kill Skye and their baby.

Sir had stepped up his game, he learned from each group he sent after Skye. Ward couldn’t detain them all and while he’d briefly entertained the idea of killing the minions he never actually followed through. The attacks now came at night and in greater numbers than before, it was then that Ward realized just how many followers Sir must have because the specialist never saw the same minion twice. With each attack Sir’s minions made it further and further into the forest and Ward didn’t have a clue about how much longer he could actually hold them off for. The only good news was that Sir’s troops were only trying to capture Skye, not kill her. The others, however, were different.

HYDRA was yet to return and for that Ward was thankful but he quickly learned there were other human factions after Skye. Not just after Skye but the rest of the team as well. There were some who had no idea what Skye was, their only orders were to bring the last remnants of SHIELD to its knees.

The mercenaries working for other worlds were also returning, still determined to follow their orders to kill Skye, to stop anyone else from having complete control of her and the baby.

Surprisingly the best days for Ward were when more than one group attempted to enter the forest at the same time. All Ward had to do was make sure that they crossed paths and they seemed to take care of each other, leaving Ward to deal with the survivors. There were more bodies this way but Ward’s only thought was that it wasn’t him that killed them. However it did add to the fear some of the invaders had about entering the woods, so that was a bonus Ward couldn’t argue with.

Ward continued his weekly updates with Fury but his patients was wearing thin. Every time he talked to Fury Ward would ask for help, for back up and every time it was denied. Ward begin to wonder if he was still really working for Fury or just for himself. What surprised the specialist was that he didn’t actually mind the idea of being without a commanding officer, if only he could get some back up.

Even from a kilometre away Ward could tell that after four weeks Skye was going stir crazy. After each and every attack Ward would send her a message to let her know she was safe and that he was okay. Ward had suggested that because of the increased attacks that Skye should stop her trips outside, just in case someone did manage to get past Ward. Skye had complained extensively, her trips outside were her last threads of freedom and she didn’t want to let go. Despite the complaints the trips had stopped and it was an unspoken rule that they never discuss the fact that Ward was right. Instead Skye kept sending Ward meaningless bits of information about what was going on around her, in other words, as far as Ward could tell, Skye was bored.

It was four weeks after he hid in a bathroom to meet Skye, four weeks before Skye’s deadline that Ward watched the Bus emerge from the underground hanger, take off and disappear into the distance. It had happened before, although this time Ward wasn’t worried, if she was going anywhere Skye would have sent him a message, giving him the chance to follow.

Ward watched the house carefully for the next couple of hour, just in case Skye hadn’t been able to get a message out. He was, however, still mindful of the forest that surrounded him. Ward was surprised when a couple of hours after the departure of the Bus the car also pulled out of the underground hanger and headed off in the direction of the town. So Ward was even more surprised when the second the car disappeared over a hill his phone rang, not a message, an actual phone call.

Answering a phone while tied to a tree, especially at a height where a fall could be fatal, was difficult but somehow Ward managed it, especially after seeing the number call was the phone he gave Skye.

“You never call, what’s going on?” Ward tried to hide the worry in his voice, he wasn’t entirely sure he succeeded.

“Nice to hear from you too, Grant,” Skye almost giggled down the line.

“I’m sorry,” Ward smiled to himself, happy to hear the hacker’s voice, she sounded like she was alright, “Hello, Skye. Nice to hear from you. How have you been?”

“Fine. You?” Skye asked, obviously holding back laughter.

Ward sighed, “Busy.” He didn’t elaborate, Skye already knew enough about the attacks that he didn’t have to.

“I’m sorry,” Skye sighed.

Ward shook his head, not caring that Skye couldn’t see him, “This isn’t your fault.”

“Yes it is,” Skye argued, “They’re after me, aren’t they?”

“That’s not the point,” Ward replied, he sighed again, “I don’t want to argue with you, Skye and I don’t believe for a second that that was the reason you called.”

“No, I guess not,” Skye sighed, the sound echoing down the phone.

“Does it have anything to do with a couple of recent departures?” Ward asked.

“Maybe,” Skye replied. Even across a phone line Ward could tell the hacker was smiling.

Ward couldn’t help but smile back, Skye was defiantly up to something, “What’s going on?”

Skye was still smiling, he could tell, “What would you say if I told you I had the house all to myself?”

“What?” Ward hissed, “Are you insane? Are they?”

“Relax, robot,” Skye laughed, “It’s only for an hour or two tops. Trip, May and A.C. took off in the Bus. Something about New Zealand, I don’t know, I wasn’t exactly paying attention.”

“And FitzSimmons?” Ward asked, not really sure he actually wanted to hear the answer.

“I may or may not have convinced them that without May or Coulson around they could go into town and have a proper date.”

“Skye…” Ward sighed, “It’s not safe for you to be on your own.”

“I’m not alone. I’ve got you protecting me,” Skye replied, somehow Ward could tell she was smiling again.

“Skye…” Ward sighed again.

“Will you stop,” Skye laughed, “If you’re so worried about me you could always come visit.”

“You do realize Coulson probably had the base under surveillance, right?” Ward replied.

“The base, yes but it’s locked up tight, Simmons didn’t want me having any accidents down there while she was away,” Skye answered, “As for the house, I highly doubt he has a camera in my room.”

Ward sighed, defeated, “How long are they gone for?”

Skye was most likely smiling again, “The Bus won’t be back for a day or two and Fitz Simmons will probably be a couple of hours.”

“Okay,” Ward replied, holding back his own smile, “Give me forty five minutes to make sure there’s not going to be any surprises.”

“I knew you couldn’t say no to me, robot,” Skye laughed, “See you soon.”

“Yeah. See you soon,” Ward sighed as the line disconnected, he wasn’t entirely sure Skye heard the reply.

* * *

 

 It was exactly thirty six minutes later that Ward finished his sweep of the forest, pleased that he had found no trace of any intruders. Deciding he had time for one more long range sweep Ward began to climb back up to one of the lookout points, he was half way up the tree when he first saw movement. It was in that moment that the specialist realized his mistake, he had gotten so used to the fact that the team would be watching for the approach by road that he had forgotten to keep an eye on it now that May and Coulson weren’t there. The worst part was the man, who had obviously approached from the road, was now heading back in the direction he had come from. Meaning he had already been to the house and if the item in his hand was what Ward thought it was the man had also already done his job.

Snatching his phone from his pocket Ward called Skye, not caring he was half way up and only semi attached to a tree.

Relief flooded through him when Skye picked up, “If you’re cancelling then I’m going….”

“Get out of the house,” Ward yelled, “There’s a bomb!”

“What are you talk…?”

The line went dead and Ward watched in horror as the house exploded. A column of fire shooting high into the air. He was too late.


	54. A Way Out

Simmons was secretly glad that it was Skye that had suggested that she and Fitz go into town for a proper date. It was something the biochemist had wanted to do since arriving in Australia but with everything that had happened Simmons had never felt completely comfortable asking Coulson for the time off, knowing full well he’d probably say no anyway.

The date had been perfect and exactly what both Fitz and Simmons had needed. Even if the best part had just been getting away from the farm for an hour or so.

Fitz was the first to spot the column of smoke rising in the distance. Simmons’ blood ran cold when it was pointed out to her. It didn’t take their genius level intellect to figure out where all that smoke was coming from and what it probably meant. Simmons wasn’t one to speed, in fact when she had to drive she tended to stay just under the limit, but when she saw the smoke Simmons probably broke a dozen road rules to make it back to the farm in record time. Fitz clung to his seat and probably would have complained, loudly, if he too wasn’t so worried about Skye. The farm could burn, just as long as Skye and the baby were okay.

Someone had obviously contacted the authorities because there were already fire trucks attempting to put out the blaze when the pair arrived at the farm. If Simmons’ blood could have run any colder it would have, not only was the entire house ablaze but the area surrounding it hadn’t fared much better. What wasn’t still burning was charred a deep black.

Fitz let out a long breath at the sighed, “Skye…”

Hands gripping the steering wheel Simmons turned to the engineer, “She could be alright. She could have hidden in the base below. That’s designed to survive a nuclear bomb.” The obvious panic in the biochemist’s voice was rising as she rambled, “Fitz, tell me she’s okay.”

Fitz just starred at the burning building infront of the car, watching helplessly as the fire fighters battled the blaze.

“Leo,” Simmons cried, interupting the engineer’s thoughts, “Tell me Skye’s okay.”

“Jemma,” Fitz breathed, horror slowly spreading across his face, “We locked the base.”

The horror spread across to Simmons’ face, she shook her head. “No. No. No,” Simmons cried, jumping out of the car she ran towards the burning building.

Luckily a fire fighter saw the biochemist and grabbed her before she could reach the house, “Miss, you can’t go in there.”

Simmons struggled against the man’s grip, “You don’t understand. My friend’s in there. She’s eight months pregnant.”

Still preventing Simmons from entering the house the fire fighter pulled out his radio, “Sir, I’ve got a woman here claiming the house was occupied when the blaze broke out. Please advise.”

A muffled voice came out of the radio, “Nothing yet. Stand by.”

Fitz had caught up with the biochemist at some point, she wasn’t entirely sure when. Seeing that the pair obviously knew each other the fire fighter passed Simmons inro the engineer’s embrace. Simmons just cried into Fitz’s should as he wrapped his arms around her, holding back tears of his own.

It wasn’t long before Simmons’ sobs began to slow and then cease but with house burning in front of them it seemed like an eternity.

Straighning up Simmons wiped the last of tears away, there was now determination in her eyes, “Okay. First we need to contact Coulson. If Skye got out she would have found a way to contact him.”

If Fitz was shocked by the sudden change in Simmons he didn’t show it, “And how exactly do you plan to do that. The direct line to the Bus was in the house., it’s probably ashes by now.” He paused breifly before voicing the words neither of them wanted to hear, “And what makes you think Skye got out because if she did then where the hell is she?”

“I don’t know,” Simmons cried, “But if anyone could get out it’s Skye. Someone just tried to blow her up, maybe she’s hiding because she doesn’t trust these guys.” The biochmist threw her arm out, indicating the fire fighters surrounding the house, “Besides she doesn’t have a way to contact us but she has one to contact Coulson.”

Fitz wa shocked, momentarily forgetting about the fire, “Really? Can you contact Coulson the same way?”

Simmons shook her head, “I need a phone and neither of us has one.”

Fitz looked around for a second, “Give me a minute.” And hurried away. It wasn’t even a minute later that the engineer returned, phone in hand.

Simmons was amazed, “How?”

Fitz smiled weakly, “People are generous. We did just loose all our worldly possentions in a fire, didn’t we? And we need to let our family know we’re okay.”

If it was another day, another place Simmons would have laughed but today wasn’t the day. Instead she took the phone from Fitz, giving him a breif kiss on the cheek and quickly dialed the only number she’d taken the time to remember off by heart.

Coulson picked up on the second ring, “Who is this?”

Simmons got straight to the point, “Sir, have you heard from Skye? Something’s happened.”

* * *

Coulson was in his office when his phone rang, having just met a dead end in New Zealand May was flying them back to base. The SHIELD director didn’t recognize the number but with spies that didn’t mean much, after all burner phones and blocked numbers were the best friends of those who didn’t want to get caught.

On the second ring he picked up the phone, “Who is this?” In their line of work there was no time for pleasantries and if it was Hill then even better.

A panicked voice came out of the phone, “Sir, have you heard from Skye? Something’s happened.”

“Simmons?” Coulson asked, “What’s going on?”

“Please tell me you’ve heard from Skye,” The biochemist pleaded over the phone.

“Why would I have heard from Skye?” Coulson asked, sensing the fear in Simmons’ voice, “What’s going on?”

“Fitz and I were outside and there was an explosion, a fire,” Simmons rambled, “And we haven’t heard from Skye. Maybe she called you, Fitz and I don’t have phones, so she couldn’t call us. Maybe she’s okay. Maybe… Maybe…” Simmons broke down in sobs over the phone.

Fear crept over Coulson, something had happened to Skye, that much he could tell from Simmons’ rambling. Calming himself Coulson spoke, “You and Fitz are fine?”

“Yes, sir,” Simmons replied quickly, her voice straining from the crying, “But Skye…”

“Simmons, stay calm. I’m sure Skye is fine, she’s a smart girl,” Coulson assured, “We’ll be back soon. Just stay calm, don’t panic and I promise you we’ll look for Skye the second we touch down.”

“Okay,” Simmons replied weakly.

“And tell Fitz not to do anything stupid,” Coulson added quickly.

“Yes, sir,” Simmons replied, not even a trace of amusement in the biochemist’s voice.

“We’ll be back soon,” Coulson promised, letting Simmons be the one to hang up the phone.

The second the biochemist hung up Coulson ran to the cockpit, ignoring the look from Trip as he ran through the lounge. Although he wasn’t timing himself Coulson believed he made it up to May in record time. If May was shocked by Coulson’s sudden appearance she didn’t show it.

“Can this plane go any faster?” Coulson asked, “Something’s happened back at base.”

May didn’t question Coulson as she drastically increased the Bus’ speed. She obviously did so without informing the plane’s other occupant because it was only a matter of seconds before Trip stumbled into the cockpit having been thrown around the lounge with the sudden change in speed.

“What the hell’s going on?” Trip asked, still trying to retain some measure of dignity despite his appearance.

“There was an attack on the base,” Coulson snapped, gripping the top of May’s seat so tight his knuckles turned white.

“What?” Trip cried.

Even May couldn’t hide her shock at the news, “What happened?” She asked, somehow managing to keep her voice neutral.

If he could have gripped the seat tighter Coulson would have, “Simmons said something about a fire, I don’t know much more than that. Hopefully we’ll learn more once we’re on the ground.”

“But you heard from Simmons?” Trip concluded, “That means everyone’s okay, right?”

“FitzSimmons are fine, perfectly alright,” Coulson assured, “Neither was in the house at the time.”

May had known Coulson long enough to read between the lines, “And Skye?”

When Coulson remained silent Trip asked May’s question again, “Is Skye okay? The baby?”

“Skye’s M.I.A.” Coulson replied gravely, “No one’s heard from her since before the fire.”


	55. Ash

Every moment of the flight was agonizing for Coulson, not knowing what was going was killing him. If he thought he’d aged fifteen year off the Asgardian incident Coulson probably lost another ten in the air as they rushed back to the base.

Coulson and Trip were down the ramp the second the Bus touched down, not caring that the engine was still running. They had landed in one of the farm’s fields, not wanting to risk the structural integrity of the base. The sun was just starting to set as Trip and Coulson hurried across the field, climbed a fence and dashed to the house, at least what was left of it. The fire trucks were long gone, having contained and extinguished the blaze hours ago.

It took Coulson a couple of seconds to take in the damage and to realize that Simmons hadn’t been exaggerating, there had most certainly been an explosion first, which had created the fire. Years of experience told Coulson that if it had been a simple house fire the damage would have been contained to the house but something had thrown parts a good hundred metres away. There had defiantly been an explosion first, which meant Skye would have had no warning, no chance to escape. The sight before him almost broke Coulson’s already scarred heart.

FitzSimmons were knee deep in debris and ash. Coulson noticed that for once the scientists worked in silence and worked at opposite ends of what had once been the house. Neither seemed to have heard Trip and Coulson approach or when May caught up with them. The SHIELD director wondered if they’d even heard the Bus land, FitzSimmons were that focused on the task at hand.

Removing his tie and jacket Coulson made his way into the remains of the house, it seemed so much smaller without walls and a roof. He briefly wondered how they’d all fit inside. Simmons was the closest so Coulson made his way over to her, squatting down to the biochemist’s level to finally get her attention. The biochemist looked at him but there was a distant look in her eyes, like she wasn’t really seeing Coulson, that her mind was miles away from her body. Simmons’ face was stained in dirt and ash. Despite looking at Coulson Simmons kept digging, ash and dirt caked beneath her nails. Coulson even noticed burns along her hands and arms, Simmons had obviously started digging long before the ash had cooled. Carefully Coulson grabbed Simmons’ burned hands, he finally got her full attention and he ignored the fact that his own hands were now covered in both dirt and ash.

Clarity appeared on Simmons’ face, as if she’d just noticed Coulson kneeling in the ash with her. On seeing him fresh tears ran down her face, “I’m so sorry,” She sobbed, “We should have been here. We should have done something. We could have…”

Instead of letting the biochemist ramble Coulson pulled her into an awkward hug and let her cry into her shirt.

Fitz chose that moment to notice the others’ arrival, he nodded in acknowledgment at Coulson’s presence but kept digging, his task too important.

Simmons continued to break down in Coulson’s arms as Trip silently made the decision to help Fitz with his search and leave Coulson to talk to the crying biochemist.

Simmons just kept repeating the same words over and over as she cried, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

May had remained standing just outside the remains of the house, as always she had remained silent but at the scene before her the Calvary finally spoke, “She’s not here and if she is she’s already dead.”

Coulson looked up, anger in his eyes, “She’s not dead. Don’t you dare say that.”

“Fine,” May snapped, “Then she’s not here.”

“Where else could she be?” Coulson yelled, letting Simmons go and getting to his feet to face May.

“In the base?” Trip asked, pulling Fitz over to the conversation that was about to start, “That place can survive a nuclear bomb.”

Simmons shook her head as she got to her feet, “We locked the base before we went out, there is no way she got down there.”

“Out?” Coulson asked, his voice rising again, “You said you were outside, not out. Where were you?”

Simmons couldn’t meet Coulson’s gaze so he repeated the question, “Where were you?”

“In town,” Simmons mumbled, finding the ash at her feet very interesting.

“What?” Coulson cried, “Could you repeat that? I’m not sure I heard you right. Did you just say that you and Fitz went into town and left Skye here? Alone?”

When Simmons just nodded weakly Coulson went to grab the girl by the shoulders, to try and get some straight answers out of the biochemist but was stopped when Fitz stepped between them.

“It was Skye’s idea,” Fitz argued, “She was sick and tired of being suffocated, we all were. It’s like Rome all over again, instead of blaming us maybe you should take a long look at yourself. Skye’s been begging for weeks got some time alone, don’t blame us for giving it to her.” The anger was clear in the engineer’s voice.

Coulson went to say something, taking a step forward but was pulled back by May who gave the entire team an icy stare, “We don’t have time for this. I personally believe that Skye couldn’t have, and didn’t, survive this,” When Coulson went to interrupt she held up a hand, stopping him, “But I’m open to the idea that she did and arguing amongst ourselves isn’t going to help us find her. So the question is, if she’s not here then where is she?”

The other remained silent, taking May’s words in.

Simmons was the first to speak, it was so quite the others almost missed it, “The river.”

Trip raised an eyebrow, doubtful, “Why the river? If she went anywhere it would be the road into town.”

Simmons shook her head, confidence seeming to grow, “Fitz and I came in via the road, and if she was making her way into town we would have seen her.”

“That still leaves the road out of town, not to mention the neighbouring farms,” Coulson replied, “You specifically mentioned the river first, why?”

“Think about it,” Simmons answered, “The day you all found out she was pregnant, where did Trip find her? The river. When the Asgardians came, where did Sif say she followed her to? The river. When Skye’s angry or scared that’s where she seems to run. It stands to reason that if she was afraid for her life today that’s where she would have gone.”

“It still doesn’t the question of why,” Coulson wondered aloud.

“It doesn’t matter why,” Fitz stepped in, “If the river is Skye’s comfort zone it doesn’t matter why just that it is and that if she survived that she could be there.” As he spoke Fitz managed to disentangle himself from the debris around his feet, without tripping and left the remains of the house.

“Where are you going?” Simmons called after the engineer.

“The river,” Fitz called back without stopping.

The others hurried to catch up and Coulson spoke up first, “It’s getting dark.”

“So,” Fitz replied, “If Skye is by the river, she’s been out there long enough. There is no way we’re leaving her there through the night.”

No one else made a comment. 

* * *

 

 Coulson was surprised to see that the path to the river was well worn and had been used recently, very recently. Years of field experience told Coulson that whoever had used the path recently had been in a hurry, not caring if they’d left signs of their movement. Coulson shared a look with May, she saw the signs too. The problem was that whoever had used the path had used it both to go both to and from the river, if it was Skye fleeing the house she wouldn’t have been coming back.

It was dark by the time trees began to rise up around the team, making it even harder to see. Thankfully FitzSimmons still carried the torches they had been using to search the rubble, they weren’t designed for searches in the dead of night but they were better than nothing.

Stumbling around a forest in the dead of night, calling Skye’s name wasn’t one of Coulson’s better ideas but it was all he had and the others were yet to suggest another plan.

Trip was the first to find something, having followed the same path he had the day he found Skye, “Guys,” The specialist called out, “You need to see this.”

The entire team hurried over to Trip, Coulson had been the furthest away and was the last to arrive, almost smacking into Fitz’s back, the engineer had stopped rather suddenly at the sight before him. Stepping around the engineer Coulson saw what had worried both him and Trip so much. In the clearing was a camp, at least what was left of one.

“Someone was living out here?” Asked Simmons, moving into the clearing.

“Not anymore,” May answered, joining the biochemist in the remains of the camp, “But they haven’t been gone long, a day at most.”

“They could have seen what happened to Skye,” Simmons spoke quietly, her confidence from earlier slipping away.

“They could be responsible for what happened,” Trip argued.

Coulson shook his head, shining the torch around the camp, “I don’t think so. This is a long term camp, my guess is that whoever was here was only a set of eyes, not an assassin. If they wanted to destroy the base they could have done it long ago. After all we had no idea they were even here, they could have been here as long as we have.”

May looked at Coulson, “Friend or foe?”

Coulson raised an eyebrow, “I’m thinking friend.”

Fitz was surprised when May nodded in agreement, he was so shocked he had to speak out, “What makes you think they’re our friend, they obviously didn’t want us to know they were here. That doesn’t seem very friendly to me.”

Coulson shrugged as he continued to look around what was left of the camp, “We already know that Fury had a team on us in London, it wouldn’t surprise me if he had one here too. The only thing that surprises me is that they were out here, I would have thought they would have been based in the town.”

“Then why are they gone?” Simmons asked, “If they were friendly why would they leave?”

It was Trip that answered, “They saw both the Bus and the car leave. They think we left so they moved on. They could have been long gone by the time the house exploded.”

Suddenly Simmons realized something that had been starring them all in the face for months, “Skye knew they were here.”

Fitz was confused, “How’d you get that?”

“It’s why she ran here when the Asgardians came,” Simmons concluded, “She knew there was someone out here that could protect her, someone who probably had an extraction plan of their own. Sif either found her before she reached them or Sif knew they were here as well.”

Fitz looked doubtful, “Then why didn’t she tell us?”

This time it was May who answered, “What would we have done if we’d known an ally was living out here?”

Trip nodded in understanding, “Invited them up to the base.”

“Exactly,” Simmons replied, “Having Skye know about them was bad enough. They needed to keep their distance, they probably asked Skye to keep their presence a secret.”

“Whoever was here worked better at a distance,” Coulson concluded, “But if they were gone before the house exploded it still begs the question, where is Skye?”

The team remained silent, they had been so surprised at finding the camp that they had almost forgotten the reason they had traipsed out to the woods in the middle of the night.

May spoke first, “Well, she’s not here.”

Coulson nodded in agreement, “If she did head to the river and if she did know someone was here then this camp would have been her destination.” He looked around at his team, “I’m open to ideas.”

“If she found the camp empty she would have headed back to the base,” Trip concluded, “The path had activity both ways after all.”

“Then there is she?” Simmons asked, frustrated that they seemed to be getting nowhere with finding the hacker, “There’s nothing left of the house. The base is locked. There is nowhere else she could be.”

May was the one to voice the words no one wanted to but were all thinking, “Maybe she was in the house. If the fire burned hot enough there may be nothing left find.”

“No,” Coulson replied sternly, “Until I have evidence to the contrary we’re working under the assumption that she made it out. Understood?”

May looked doubtful but nodded, seeing Coulson was in no mood to argue with her.

“So what’s our next move?” Trip asked, deciding it was the best way to defuse the tension that was rising between May and Coulson.

“We head back,” Coulson replied, “This time we don’t take the path. If Skye wondered off it something could have happened and he couldn’t get back to the base.”

“Sir,” Simmons added, “The stress caused by the explosion, not to mention running back and forth to the house could have caused some complications for the baby.” She paused briefly before voicing her fear, “If they did survive the fire and we don’t find them soon, neither of them are going to last through the night.”

“You heard her,” Coulson replied, looking around at what was left of his team, “Split up, each taking a different path back to the house. Let’s find our hacker.”

* * *

Coulson was the last one to make it back to the Bus, having searched his route rather thoroughly. May was waiting for him at the bottom of the ramp, arms crossed.

Before he could speak May did, “There’s someone here to see you. You’ll never guess who.”

Coulson was not in the mood for guessing games, not today. He trudged up the ramp, past May but stopped at the sight of the man in the lab with FitzSimmons.

Even with the man’s back to him Coulson knew exactly who it was, “Thor?”


	56. Odinson

The Asgardian prince spun around at Coulson’s voice. He made his way out of the lab, still starring at the ghost before him.

Thor looked Coulson up and down, surprise evident on his face, “When the Lady Sif informed me that one of my Midgardian friends required assistance I did not believe it could be you, Son of Coul. Fury told us if your death at Loki’s hands.” He smiled, thumping Coulson on the back, “Not that I am not gladdened to see you but I must ask how you survived my brother’s wrath?”

Coulson gave a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, “A story for another time, my friend. I am also glad to see you but today is not a day to be happy. Why did Sif believe I needed your help?”

“She believed the new would be better coming from a friend. The Lady Sif relayed a message from the gatekeeper Heimdell, he said to warn you that the woman you search for is gone.” Thor replied gravely.

Coulson crossed his arms, the others remained silent having heard Thor’s words, “What do you mean gone? You don’t know Skye, if there was a way out she found it.”

The smile was long gone from Thor’s face, “I am sorry, Son of Coul but Heimdell sees everything in the nine realms. The woman and her child burned in the blaze. He fears you will search for eternity when there may be nothing left of them to find.”

Coulson felt himself sitting down in one of the cargo bay seats, although he didn’t remember making the conscious decision to do so.

Thor remained standing, looking down at the friend he thought dead for so long, “I am sorry for your loss. If the woman was as Heimdell claimed her to be it is a loss for us all, her kind was rare and deserved to thrive.”

Coulson looked up, “You’re father wanted her dead.”

Thor shook his head, “My father desired her to be contained. As rare as her kind was they are also dangerous, they see things no one else sees and their blood is like no other. It was my mother’s job to control them, I fear with her death my father sought his own solution to the problem.”

“Skye is a human being, not a problem to be dealt with,” Coulson snapped.

“That is where you are wrong, my friend,” Thor replied gravely, “The girl you call Skye was far from human.”

“Is,” Simmons interjected angrily, not caring that she was facing down a god.

“I’m sorry,” Thor asked, turning to the biochemist.

“Skye still IS, not was,” Simmons snapped.

“I am sorry loss, I too have known its sting recently but Heimdell would spread falsehoods, not to those I call friend,” Thor sighed.

Tears returned to Simmons’ eyes, still stained with ash and dirt. At Thor’s words the biochemist ran from the cargo bay, quickly followed by the engineer who had refused to leave her side.

Trip took this as a sign that it was time for him too to leave, after the day he’d had he really wanted a drink.

May refused to leave Coulson alone with Thor, afraid of what the SHIELD director might do if the Asgardian repeated that Skye and the baby were dead one more time. As always the Calvary stood silently but on the inside her heart was breaking at the sight of the broken man sitting in front of Thor.

“I am sorry,” Thor repeated, “To find out you are alive but suffering such a loss pains me greatly.”

Coulson sighed, “It’s not your fault.”

Thor shook his head, “None the less I fear my father’s interest in the girl is the cause of her death.” Coulson looked shocked but let the prince continue, “I fear that there are some that would rather see the girl and her child dead than in the hands of Odin.”

Coulson clenched his teeth angrily but could still not bring himself to blame Thor for the current situation, he knew better than most that a son shouldn’t be blamed for his father’s actions. Coulson looked at the Asgardian carefully, “Do you know who is responsible?”

Thor shook his head sadly, “That was information Heimdell would not share, even with me. Tell you of the girl’s death is one thing but helping you seek your revenge is beyond him. Heimdell is only an observer of this world, he will not interfere. However he did inform me that there is one who knows who is to blame and already hunts them.”

Coulson was curious, “Who?”

Thor once again shook his head, “Again, something he would not share, only that there is one who seeks justice for your friend. I do not know if that helps.”

“It does,” Coulson smiled weakly, “I only wish I could help them.”

“You are not a vengeful man, Phillip,” Thor answered, finally taking a seat, somewhat awkwardly, next to Coulson, “Do you believe your friend would want you to become one for her sake?”

Coulson sighed, defeated, “No.”

“Then don’t,” Thor replied, “Honour her memory, the memory of her child, by being the man she would want you to be.”

Coulson smiled, “When did you become so wise?”

“Through loss of my own.”

“I’m sorry,” Coulson replied weakly, not knowing what else could be said.

“No matter,” Thor replied, thumping Coulson on the back again as he got to his feet, “Now that I have delivered the message and learned of your survival I must return to the New city of York.”

Coulson stood up too, “I thought you were in London.”

“I continue to visit the Lady Jane Foster there but I currently reside with Stark in his mighty tower,” Having turned toward the ramp Thor turned back to Coulson, “Tell me, do the others know of your survival?”

“Natasha does,” Coulson answered, “And it wouldn’t surprise me if Clint does too but as far as I know Banner and Stark still think I’m dead. I was never sure about Rogers.”

Thor raised an eyebrow, “And you do not want me to inform them?”

“Not yet,” Coulson shook his head, “I think it’s something I need to tell them myself, in person.”

“Indeed,” Thor nodded, “I believe news such as this must be delivered in person if one is to believe it is not in jest. However I do not believe I can keep such joyous news to myself for long.”

Coulson shook his head, “I don’t think that will be a problem. Something tells me we will cross paths again sooner rather than later.”

Stepping off the Bus Thor nodded to Coulson, “Despite the circumstances of my arrival it was good to see you Phillip, Son of Coul. Until we meet again.”

Despite the day he had had Coulson still found it fascinating to watch the Asgardian prince lift himself into the air with a swing of his mighty hammer. Coulson continued to watch the night sky as Thor disappeared into the distance. Knowing he was not alone Coulson turned back onto the Bus, once again being met by May, arms crossed.

The Calvary raised an eyebrow, “Do you believe him?”

Coulson sighed, “I believe that he believes Skye is dead. Whether it is because it is true or because someone is lying to him, I don’t know.”

May looked doubtful, “You think the Asgardians took her and covered their tracks?”

Coulson shrugged, “The thought had crossed my mind. Thor isn’t lying to us but that doesn’t mean someone’s not lying to him.”

May took a step forward, choosing her next words carefully, “And maybe he told the truth because it is the truth.”

“Don’t,” Coulson snapped, raising his hands, “Just… Don’t. Not yet.”

“It’s a reality you might have to face,” May replied gravely.

“Not today.”

* * *

However the day did come. It was almost a week later that Coulson stopped searching for a sign, anything to indicate that Skye had survived the fire. The director of SHIELD was reluctant to admit that Thor may have been right, maybe there was nothing left to find.

It had been six days since the fire, although May had been admit they would find nothing since day one he had searched with Coulson for four more days. When May had stopped searching so had Trip and Fitz, hoping that their absence would convince both Simmons and Coulson that there was nothing left to find. Whatever Fitz said to Simmons it worked because the next day Coulson went out alone. Working the remains of the house alone Coulson had time to think and it was there where he came to a decision.

Returning to the Bus earlier than had the other days Coulson head straight to his office, ignoring the looks he received from his team. Locking himself in his office Coulson spent the next hour making several phone calls to all the people he thought could help him. When he left the office Coulson couldn’t even be bothered to call a team meeting, choosing instead to make a beeline for May.

Coulson couldn’t be bothered being polite, not this week, “How soon can you get us in the air?”

May just raised an eyebrow, all she needed to do to ask the question Coulson knew was coming.

Coulson crossed his arms, “New York.”


	57. Friends

Coulson stood outside Stark tower in awe, it had been a while since he had been here, and it had still been under construction back then. The team also stood in silence, waiting for their leader, they didn’t talk much anymore, not since the fire, not since they lost Skye. Taking a deep breath Coulson walked into the lobby, followed by his team, where Maria Hill was waiting for them.

Maria had never been one for smiles but she gave a weak one at the sight of the ragged team, she didn’t bother to greet the others, focusing solely on Coulson, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“No,” Coulson shook his head, “But I’m not sure we can do this alone anymore.”

Maria just nodded once in response before leading Coulson and the team to the elevator, once inside the former deputy director of SHIELD pressed the button for the top floor. Not wanting to wait in silence Maria spoke, “I was sorry to hear about your hacker.”

She was met by silence, only receiving a glare from May, the message was clear, ‘drop it’.

Coulson spoke next, pretending that Hill never had, “Are they all here?”

Maria nodded, “Even Romanoff and Barton.”

“Do they know I’m here?”

This time Maria shook her head, “They were all here already. I thought you could surprise them.”

Coulson nodded in response, “Does Rogers know? I was never sure if Fury told him, he was level eight after all.”

Again Maria shook her head but this time she didn’t say anything, she didn’t have time. They had arrived.

Coulson wasn’t sure what would await him at the top of Stark tower but whatever it was it wasn’t what he found up there. The entirety of the Avengers were waiting up there but they all had their backs to the elevator and they were arguing.

Coulson raised an eyebrow at the sight but said nothing as he and his team stepped off the elevator.

“Sir,” Stark’s AI JARVIS spoke, “Miss Hill is here to see you.”

Tony Stark didn’t turn around, “Tell her I’m busy.”

Maria crossed her arms, “I brought someone to see you.”

Again Stark didn’t turn around, neither did any of the other Avengers, “If it’s Fury tell him I liked him better when he was dead.”

Coulson took this opportunity to speak up, “What about me? Did you like me better dead?”

Coulson wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a group of people turn around so quickly.

Instead of speaking to Coulson Stark turned to Steve Rogers, “I’m seeing things, right?”

Captain America shook his head, “Not unless we all are.”

This time Stark turned to Doctor Banner, “Did you spike our drinks again?”

Bruce shook his head, not taking his eyes off the dead man who had just stepped off the elevator.

The silence that followed was awkward and Coulson found himself thinking about what snarky comment Skye would come up with to break the ice. Pulling himself back from depressing thoughts about Skye Coulson spoke to Stark, “I hear you’re privatising world peace.”

“No,” Stark snapped.

Coulson raised an eyebrow, “No? So you’re not privatising world peace?”

“No,” Stark snapped again, “You don’t get to come in here and pretend nothing happened. You died.”

Coulson shrugged, “Temporarily. I’m all better now.” He could almost hear May groan behind him, it was a pretty bad joke after all.

Stark just stared at Coulson, almost in shock that the man dared joke about his own death.

Natasha was the next one to break the silence, taking a step forward she looked Coulson up and down, “I wondered when you would turn up.”

Before Coulson could respond Stark spoke again, “You knew,” When the Black Widow just raised an eyebrow, the billionaire just sighed, “Raise your hand if you DIDN’T know.” Tony looked annoyed as he looked around at his team mates, only Banner and Rogers didn’t have their hands in the air, “Thor? You knew? I expected Katniss, even Capsicle, but you?” There was a sense of betrayal in Tony’s voice.

“Fear not, Stark,” Thor replied, “I have known for only seven of your days.”

“And you didn’t think to tell us?” This time it was Steve who spoke to Thor.

“Hey,” Coulson snapped, “Still here.”

“Sorry,” Tony mumbled, finally looking at Coulson, “I’m assuming it was Fury who faked your death.”

“He did,” Coulson replied, deciding it wasn’t the time or the place to go into details.

“I guess we have a lot to talk about then,” Stark replied, “Maybe we should move this to the lounge.” He looked behind Coulson, as if just seeing his team for the first time, “And maybe you could introduce us to your friends.”

Coulson nodded and walked down to the lounge area, as he passed Stark the billionaire poked him, as if making sure he was actually real.

Natasha quickly pulled Simmons aside before the biochemist could join the others in the lounge, “What happened? Where’s Skye?”

“There was a fire, she didn’t…” Simmons whispered, unable to finish the sentence but it was enough for Natasha to know that the hacker wouldn’t be joining them.

“I’m sorry,” Natasha replied softly.

Simmons quickly wiped away tears that were beginning to form, “Did you know she was pregnant?” When Natasha just shook her head Simmons nodded weakly, “Since London. It would have been a boy. The others didn’t know but I did. I knew.”

“Simmons…” Natasha sighed, sensing the grief in the girl’s voice.

Simmons pulled away from the Black Widow, “I should join the team.” Natasha let her walk away.

When Simmons joined the team in the lounge only Clint noticed that Natasha didn’t join them.

* * *

Alone on the balcony Natasha dialled a number that Fury had given her almost a year ago, in case of emergency. It rang longer than she thought it would but eventually Grant Ward picked up.

“I told you three days ago where you could shove it, Fury,” Ward growled over the phone, but before Natasha could interrupt the specialist continued, “Yes, I can speak, I’ve been able to for months, get over it. Changing your number doesn’t change anything.”

“I’m not sure what’s more insulting,” Natasha almost smiled, “The fact that you think I’m a one eyed man or that you just told me to get lost.”

“Romanoff,” Ward growled, “I’m not in the mood. To save time I’ll assume Barton was the one who told you I could talk and that I’m the one following Coulson. I’m not working for Fury anymore, so get to the point. What do you want?”

“I heard about Skye,” Natasha sighed, “What happened?”

“I made a mistake and she paid for it,” Ward replied angrily.

“Do you know who did this?” Natasha asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“Yes,” Ward replied briefly.

“Have you done anything about them?”

“Not yet.”

“Let me know if you need help,” Natasha replied, “I’ll help you string them up.”

Ward remained silent.

Natasha sighed, “Coulson and his team are here.”

“I don’t care,” Ward replied, “They’re not my problem. Not anymore.”

“You can’t blame them?” Natasha asked surprised.

“They left her alone,” Ward growled, “I blame them, I blame Fury for not sending the backup I asked for, I blame the man who did this but mostly I blame myself. I wasn’t there for her, for them.”

Natasha knew immediately what Ward was talking about, “The baby was yours?”

The line went dead.

It didn’t matter, Natasha had her answer but it wasn’t one she would share. Coulson and his team had enough trouble dealing with the loss of Skye, the Black Widow wasn’t sure they could handle the fact that their friend had been lying to them for months, that someone they all considered a traitor had been so close to them all for so many months. No, this was just another secret the spy had to keep.

Sighing Natasha headed back inside and joined the other Avengers as they caught up on Coulson’s life. She had a quick look around at the remains of Coulson’s team and Natasha realized in an instant that despite the small smiles Skye’s death had broken them. The Black Widow wasn’t entirely sure that they could ever be fixed.

Clint raised an eyebrow when Natasha joined them on the lounge, “Who were you talking to?”

Natasha shrugged, “A friend.”

It didn’t take Clint long to figure it out. 

* * *

On the other side of the world, all the way back in Australia, Ward put the phone down as a nurse came into the small room, there was no way the specialist was going to risk getting kicked out of the hospital for using a phone, not now. Romanoff could infer whatever she liked from Ward’s silence, in fact it was probably better that he didn’t tell her the truth out right anyway. It gave the assassin deniability if the topic ever did come up again in the future, not that Ward thought it would.

The nurse smiled at Ward, “How’s my favourite patient today?”

“Sleeping thankfully,” Ward smiled, eyes sweeping over to the plastic crib on one side of him.

“And his mother?” The nurse asked, eyes moving to the woman in the bed on the other side of Ward.

“No change,” Ward sighed.

The nurse nodded sadly, “We’ll let him get some sleep then, lord knows he needs it and from the looks of it so do you.”

“I’m fine,” Ward argued.

“You’re lying,” The nurse smiled, “But I won’t tell.”

“Thanks,” Ward smiled as the nurse left. When he was alone Ward reached to the bed and squeezed the sleeping hacker’s hand, “Come on, Rookie. You’ve got to come back to me. To both of us.” And for the first time in a week Skye’s hand squeezed back.


	58. Run

After the fire and the pain the first thing Skye feels is the pressure on her hand and the voice pulling her back into the light. However even in the light there was pain, not as much as she recalled but it was still there, everything below her waist ached and everything above it stung. Although she was aware of what was going on around her Skye couldn’t quite bring herself to open her eyes, not yet, not when she wasn’t entirely sure what she would be opening them to. Before the pain, before the fire, Skye remembered fear, fear for herself but mostly fear for her baby, the fear that she might lose it and Skye wasn’t sure she could live with herself if she lost her baby, their baby. Just lying there Skye couldn’t feel the baby move and at thirty four weeks it should be moving almost constantly. Skye didn’t want to open her eyes and have someone tell her she’d lost the baby, Skye wasn’t sure she could take it.

Skye felt the pressure on her hand again, “I know you’re awake, Skye.” It was Ward, “I’ve spent way too many mornings trying to get you out of bed, so I can tell when you’re faking it.” Despite the joke Skye could hear the worry in his voice.

“No,” Skye groaned, still refusing to open her eyes, “You can’t be here.”

Skye felt the pressure on her hand again, “Where else would I be?”

Skye finally opened her eyes, wondering exactly where here was. The room was white and it was a room Skye had never been in before, she wasn’t in the house or the base and she certainly wasn’t on the Bus.

Seeing the panic on the hacker’s face Ward placed both his hands over Skye’s, “Hey,” He assured, “It’s okay.”

Skye turned her head, wincing as the action caused pain to shoot up the side of her neck. However it wasn’t pain in her eyes as she looked at the man sitting next to her bed, it was fear, “The baby?”

Ward smiled, he actually smiled, “He’s fine.”

“He?” Skye asked, slightly confused. She shifted slightly, causing her to wince again.

“Hey,” Ward said, standing up he placed a hand on the hacker’s shoulder, “You were hurt pretty bad in the explosion and you just had a baby. You shouldn’t be moving.”

Skye’s head was spinning, she didn’t quite comprehend what Ward was saying, “Had the baby? I don’t… I can’t…”

Ward smiled softly, “It’s okay.” He took a step back, letting Skye see the plastic crib that had been concealed by his body, “See, you’re both okay.”

The plastic of the crib was see through and Skye could see the tiny baby asleep inside, the blue blanket reminded her of what Ward had said, it was a boy. She had a little boy.

Skye struggled into a sitting position, ignoring Ward’s attempts to keep her lying down by the look she gave him probably would have sent May running so the specialist took a step back and let Skye get into a more comfortable position sitting in the bed.

Skye’s eyes never left her son, “Can I hold him?”

Ward frowned and nodded at Skye’s arms.

For the first time Skye looked herself over, although nothing seemed broken both her arms were bandaged. Her right arm was only bandaged from wrist to elbow, no doubt why Ward had chosen that hand to hold and shoulder to squeeze. Skye’s left arm, however, was bandaged from wrist to should and there was even gauze stretching up her neck, no doubt the reason it hurt when she’d turned to face Ward. Skye had a flash of memory, of throwing her arms up to protect herself and the baby from fire and shrapnel, she flinched at the memory and shook her head to send it away.

Skye eyed Ward now, “I don’t care if it hurts me, I need to know he’s okay.”

“Skye…” Ward sighed.

Skye smiled, “Do you really think you’re going to win this argument, Grant. I want to hold my son, are you going to pass him to me or do I have to get out of this bed?”

Ward sighed again, knowing there was no way he was going to win this argument, “He’s sleeping, do you know how long it took to make that happen?”

Skye smiled again, shifting slightly, this time managing to hold back a wince, “Then maybe you shouldn’t wake him.”

Ward smiled slightly and shook his head. Turning around he carefully picked his son up, the little boy squirmed in Ward’s arms but didn’t wake up. Carefully perching himself on the edge of the bed. Ward smiled at Skye, “Ready?”

Skye just nodded, eyes never leaving the bundle in Ward’s arms.

Carefully Ward placed the sleeping baby in Skye’s arms. The hacker hid a wince at the sudden pressure on her bandaged arms but said nothing, not wanting to give Ward a reason to take the sleeping child from her arm.

Skye couldn’t keep the smile off her face as looked down at her sleeping son, she only just managed to keep the tears in, “He’s so small,” She looked up at Ward, “Are you sure he’s okay?”

Ward shifted so he was sitting on the bed next to Skye, “He’s fine, the doctors here have spent the last week making sure of that.”

Skye couldn’t hide her shock, “A week? I’ve been out for a week?”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Ward assured, placing a kiss on Skye’s head, “You’re okay.” He pulled back a bit, so he could look down at Skye, “What do you remember?”

Skye blinked several time, then returned her attention to her sleeping son. It was a couple of seconds before she spoke, “Not much. I was waiting outside, I was going to surprise you. You called, you were so scared and I didn’t understand.” She paused for a second before continuing, “Then there was a fire and… and… I don’t remember anything else.” She looked up at Ward, “The team doesn’t know I’m here, do they?”

Ward shifted on the bed, looking away from Skye, “What makes you say that?”

“I’m not an idiot, Grant,” Skye sighed, “There is no way in a million years Coulson would leave you here with me, alone. And there is no way in hell May would have left you with the ability to stand up. Even if you had told them the truth.”

Ward sighed, still not looking at Skye, “I had to save you,” He suddenly looked at his son sleeping in Skye’s arms, “Both of you. I had to get you out of there. I had no way of contacting Coulson and there wasn’t time to wait for anyone to come back, you needed help.”

Skye’s eyes returned to the baby who was squirming in his sleep, “They think I’m dead, don’t they?”

Ward shrugged, “It’s been a week and they wouldn’t have found anything.” He paused briefly before continuing, “I’ll get you back to them. It might take a while but I’ll get you back to them, I promise.”

“What if you don’t?” Skye said softly, so softly in fact that Ward almost didn’t hear her.

Ward’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “What?”

“What if we let them think I’m dead?” Skye sighed, “If they do maybe everyone else will too. Maybe our son will have the chance of a normal life.” Looking up the hacker saw the look on Ward’s face, “But you already thought of that. You just didn’t want to be the one to suggest it.”

Ward nodded weakly, “I didn’t want to be the one to suggest that you give up your family.” He sighed, “Besides it wasn’t exactly my idea.” Seeing the confusion on Skye’s face Ward pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, “Three days ago a woman, and I quote ‘right out of the history pages’ left this note at the front desk for you.”

Skye shifted so that she could hold the baby and take the note from Ward. She read it three times to make sure:

**_The world believes you dead._ **

**_As does Odin._ **

**_The time to run is now._ **

**_S._ **

Skye raised an eyebrow, “Sif?”

“I think so,” Ward replied simply, “She did say she would find a way to keep you out of Odin’s hands.”

“And you think she blew up a house to convince him we were dead?” Skye asked.

Ward shook his head, “No. I think she just took advantage of the situation.”

“Do you know who did do it?”

Ward shrugged, “I have an idea.” He didn’t expand on that and Skye wasn’t going to push him on it, not today.

The baby started to wake up, squirming in Skye’s arms and with the bandages Skye began to find it difficult to hold him.

Seeing the hacker’s trouble Ward reached for the child, “Here, let me.”

Skye let Ward take her son from her arms, tears came to her eyes, “I can’t even hold my son, Grant. I’m a horrible mother.”

Carefully placing the baby back in his crib Ward turned back to Skye, “You are going to be a great mum, Skye. Once you’re better you’re never going to let him go.”

Skye smiled weakly, “You still suck at comforting, Robot.”

Ward returned the weak smile, “But you have to admit that I’m getting better.”

“Relatively,” Skye agreed, shifting so she could look at her son the hacker sighed, “He needs a name.”

Ward smiled, “It would probably help.” He turned back to look down at the baby, who was now awake and starring up at his father, Ward sighed, “Any ideas?”

“Yeah,” Skye said softly, “I’m just not sure you’re going to like it.”

Ward turned back to Skye, “I’m going to love any name you choose.”

“Andrew,” Skye said softly.

Ward raised an eyebrow, “Any particular reason?”

Skye shook her head, careful not to strain her neck, “That’s kind of the point. He needs a name all his own.”

Ward smiled, “I can understand that.” He paused, “Why didn’t you think I would like it?”

Skye shifted again, “It was more of the middle name I was worried about,” She paused, waiting for Ward to say something, when he just raised an eyebrow again and waited Skye sighed and continued, “Phillip.”

“After Coulson?” Ward asked, Skye just nodded and Ward shrugged, “I have no problem with that.”

“Really?” Skye was surprised.

“Yeah,” Ward sighed, looking down at his son he smiled, “Andrew Phillip, yeah, I think we can live with that.”

“Andrew Phillip Ward,” Skye corrected.

Ward was shocked, he turned back to Skye, “You really want him to have my name?”

Skye almost laughed, “It’s better than Poots.” Then he froze realizing what she just admitted.

Ward actually did laugh, “Poots? Did you just finally tell me your last name?”

“Yes,” Skye snapped, “And you are never going to mention it again, okay?”

If it was any other person Ward would have argued but for Skye he agreed, “Okay.”

There was silence for a minute before Skye spoke, “What do you think?”

“About his name?” Ward asked, “I already…”

“No,” Skye interrupted, “About running? You’re the specialist, what’s your professional opinion?”

“It all depends?” Ward replied.

“On?”

“On whether or not the entire world really does think you’re dead,” Ward answered, “If even a single person thinks you survived and continues to look for you, they could draw attention.”

Skye sighed, “You’re talking about my father.”

“Odin had thought you dead before,” Ward shrugged, “Until Sir started looking for you again. If Sir does know you’re alive you and Andrew are safer with the team.”

Skye hid a smile when Ward used their son’s name, “And if Sir thinks we died in the fire?”

“Then we’re safer on our own.”

“And do what?” Skye asked, “Run for the rest of our lives?”

Ward shook his head, “Running draws attention. If someone is looking for you their first stop will be Coulson, so we settle down as far away from them as we can get. Try to live a normal life.”

“Normal?” Skye almost laughed, “And where exactly do we get that?”

Ward shrugged, “I don’t know, not yet. Coulson’s in New York at the moment. If he stays there we are safer either here in Australia or somewhere in Europe.”

Skye was shocked, “Coulson’s in New York?”

Ward winced, he hadn’t meant that information to just slip out, “Yeah. Romanoff called.”

“Natasha called you? Why?” Skye asked, actually surprised.

“Wondering what happened to you,” Ward shrugged, “Apparently Coulson and the others aren’t talking.”

Skye sat up a little straighter, “Did you tell her I was alive?”

“No,” Ward stated simply, he gave no explanation and Skye didn’t ask for one.

Skye sighed, “If we’re going to run when would we have to leave?”

“As soon as possible,” Ward replied, “You’re here under a fake name but we’re still close to the base for my liking.”

“Now?” Skye asked.

“Can you walk?” Ward asked, a small smile touched his lips.

“I’m not sure,” Skye replied.

“Then we can wait,” Ward shrugged, “Another day or two shouldn’t hurt.”

Skye was about to say something when Ward’s phone began to ring. The specialist pulled it out of his pocket but didn’t answer it.

“Who is it?” Skye asked as the phone continued to ring.

“No idea,” Ward replied, “I told Fury to get lost days ago and I doubt Romanoff would call back so soon.”

“Are you going to answer it?” Skye asked.

“Might as well,” Ward shrugged, “Hello.”

“Do you know how much trouble I went through to get this number, boy?” A familiar voice growled down the phone.

“Sir,” Ward growled back.

Skye closed her eyes and groaned. So much for running.


	59. Numbered

Fear shot through Ward when he recognized the voice on the other end of the phone but he did his best hide it, for Skye’s sake. There was never going to be a time when the specialist was happy to receive a phone call from Skye’s father.

Ward defiantly wasn’t in the mood to talk to the man, “What do you want?”

“I want you to tell me that my daughter survived that explosion,” Sir replied.

“And if I can’t,” Ward answered. If Sir didn’t know for sure that Skye was alive he was going to do his best to convince the man that she was dead, “What if Skye didn’t survive?”

“Then your days are numbered,” Sir threatened.

“I’ll start counting,” Ward snapped back. Ending the call before Sir had the chance to respond. Ward turned back to face Skye.

The hacker just raised an eyebrow, “I take it that went well.”

Ward just shrugged. He pulled the battery out of the back of the phone and dropped the rest of it to the floor, smashing it beneath the heel of his foot. Looking back up at Skye the specialist gave a weak smile, “Your father’s a bastard, you know?”

Skye actually smiled, “So I hear.”

Ward’s smile faulted and he sat on the edge of the bed again, he sighed, “I know you want answers about your family, Skye, but you’re safest far away from him.”

Skye raised an eyebrow again, “I didn’t say anything.”

Ward smiled, “You don’t have to. You want answers, you always have and now it’s me keeping you from them.”

Skye shook her head, still being careful of her neck, “It’s not your fault.” She grasped the specialist’s hand in her own, “There are a million ways my father could have reached out to me, and he chose to send men to kidnap me. I don’t need someone like that in my life, in Andrew’s life.”

Ward pulled his hand away, “But you need someone like me?”

Skye groaned, “Not this again, Grant.” She sat up completely, swinging her legs over the side of the bed so that she was sitting next to Ward. Skye held a wince at the sudden movement but didn’t let it stop her, she put a hand on Ward’s shoulder, “I’m always going to need you in my life.”

Ward couldn’t meet Skye’s gaze, “I’m not a good man, Skye.”

“No, you’re not,” Skye agreed, “But you’re getting there and I love you all the more for that.”

Ward’s head snapped up, “Did you just say you love me?”

Skye smiled as she moved her hand from his shoulder to the back of Ward’s neck, “Yes,” She pulled Ward’s lips down on hers. When Skye finally pulled back she smiled, “I love you, Grant Ward. Don’t you ever forget that and don’t ever doubt it.”

Ward smiled, slightly shocked at Skye’s actions, “I love you too.”

Skye grinned, “What’s not to love? I’m perfect.”

“Yes, you are,” Ward agreed bringing his lips back down on Skye’s. When they finally came up for air Ward sighed, “We may have to leave sooner rather than later.”

Skye pulled back so she could look at her son, who was now starring up at her from his crib, “You think Sir’s going to come here?”

Ward shrugged, “I’m not sure but I would rather not take the risk. If he doesn’t believe you’re dead then he will come looking for you and if he does believe then he’s going to come looking for me.”

Skye almost smiled, “So what’s the plan? Are you going to carry us out of here?”

Ward gave the hacker a half smile, “I think someone is going to notice that.”

“Well I’m not entirely sure I can walk out of here,” Skye retorted.

“We’re going to have to make the doctors discharge you,” Ward sighed, seeing the shock on Skye’s face he quickly continued, “Think about it. If a comatose woman and a newborn baby disappear from a hospital it’s going to make the news.”

“Which would draw unwanted attention,” Skye concluded she then sighed, “I’ve been in a coma for a week, do you really think they’re going to just let me go just because I woke up?”

“They’ll want to keep you here under observation,” Ward agreed, “But legally they can’t keep you here against your will. If you want to leave they have to let you, even if it’s against doctor’s orders.”

“So…” Skye sighed, “Are we going to do this now or not?”

“Get it over with,” Ward agreed, he stood up and gestured for Skye to get back into the bed and under the blanket. When she was back in the bed and somewhat comfy Ward pushed the call button next to the hacker’s bed.

While they waited Ward picked up Andrew, who was demanding attention. Skye couldn’t help but smile at the way Ward lit up when he held his son, so far away from the robot he had been when they first met.

“Well, look who’s awake,” The voice of a nurse came from the door.

The fact the woman was looking at Ward as she spoke made Skye wonder if she was talking about her or Andrew. A shot of jealousy ran through the hacker at the way the nurse looked at Ward. The only thing that stopped her from saying something was the fact the Ward didn’t seem to look twice at the woman, his attention solely on Andrew.

“Yeah,” Skye finally spoke, trying to keep her thoughts on the nurse out of her voice, “And if I could get out of here that would be great.”

The look the nurse gave Skye was a mixture of shock and annoyance, the woman crossed her arms, she was probably used to difficult patients, “That’s not up to me and I highly doubt the doctor is just going to let you just leave.”

“Well why don’t you go get him and we’ll find out,” Skye snapped.

The nurse turned on her heel and stormed out of the room in annoyance.

Still holding Andrew Ward turned to look at Skye and just raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Skye shrugged, “I don’t like her.”

Ward gave the hacker a half smile, “I thought she was nice.”

“You really are an idiot, you know?” Skye groaned, but she smiled, “But you’re my idiot.”

Ward grinned but was saved from responding by the arrival of the doctor, Skye was glad to see that the nurse hadn’t returned.

The doctor was elderly and gave Skye a warm smile as he shuffled into the room, “Ah, Mrs Ward so good to see you awake.”

Skye glared at Ward at his choice of name but the specialist chose that moment to find his son more interesting than the child’s mother. Skye didn’t say anything to him, she would deal with him later, instead speaking to the doctor, “It’s good to be awake.” Skye smiled, trying to be as charming as possible, Ward hid a smile at the hacker’s attempt.

The doctor, however, just smiled, “I see you’ve already met your son.” Nodding to the child in Ward’s arms.

Skye smiled, “He’s perfect.”

“We were all a little worried about both of you in the beginning,” The doctor noted, “But it seems both mother and child are fighters.”

Skye smiled, looking at Ward, “So is his father.”

Ward just smiled back.

The doctor nodded, “Good to know.” He had a brief look over the fire he carried in his hand, “The nurse tells me you want to leave. I must advise you against that, there are several tests I would like to run, not to mention all the rest you need.”

“I’m fine,” Skye assured, “And I promise I won’t sue if something happens because I was in a rush.”

“Why the rush?” The doctor asked, it was obvious that he was curious about the unconscious woman who had been brought into his emergency room.

Skye was prepared for that particular question, “You can probably tell we’re not local.” The doctor just nodded and let Skye continue, “We,” Giving a brief nod at Ward, “Wanted one last holiday before the baby was born, obviously he came a bit earlier than planned and now all we want to do is get home.”

The doctor gave a knowing smile, “That I can understand, my eldest was born while my wife and I were visiting Melbourne and in the hospital all my wife could talk about was getting home. However that doesn’t mean I can just release you. You were seriously hurt, I cannot in good conscience release you without at least running a few tests.

Skye sighed, leaning back into her pillow, “Fine, run your tests. But I want out of here as soon as possible.”

The doctor nodded once, “I’ll do my best. I’ll be back in about ten minutes and we’ll start them, okay?”

“Okay,” Skye agreed, watching as the doctor left the room before turning to Ward, “Mrs Ward?”

Ward carefully placed Andrew back in the crib before speaking, “I was in a hurry.”

“Skye Ward?” Skye suddenly smiled, “I could live with that, you know?” Ward bit his lip, obviously hiding something and Skye almost laughed, “What did you tell them my first name was?” When Ward remained silent Skye poked him, glad that he was still within reach, “Come on, Robot, whatever you said my name was it can’t be that bad.”

“Mary,” Ward replied quickly, seeing the shock on the hacker’s face he back peddled quickly, “Sorry. It’s the first name I thought of, I have no idea why.”

“It’s okay,” Skye assured, “It’s just that no one’s called me Mary in a while.”

Understanding washed over Ward’s face and supressed a laugh, “Your name is Mary? For real? Mary Poots?”

Skye shifted in the bed and then glared at Ward, “The nuns gave me the name Mary Sue Poots, so you can see why I go by Skye.”

“I can understand,” Ward smiled, “That doesn’t mean I’m ever going to forget about it.”

“Shut up, Douglas,” Skye snapped.

Ward didn’t dare respond to that.

* * *

It was almost twenty four hours later that Skye was released from the hospital. The tests the doctor ran took longer than both her and Ward would have liked, but they both agreed it was better to be safe than sorry.

Skye was escorted out of the hospital in a wheel chair, Andrew secured in her arms, she raised an eyebrow at the car that was waiting for her, “What happened to the last one?”

Ward cringed as he helped Skye into the car, “I may or may not have crashed it.” Seeing the look on Skye’s face the specialist gave a weak smile, “I needed an excuse for your injuries, a car crash was better than saying your house exploded.”

Skye smiled and shook her head, “You’re an idiot.”

Ward smiled as he made sure both the hacker and their son were secure, he gave Skye a kiss on the cheek, “But I’m your idiot.”

“Yes,” Skye smiled, “Yes, you are.”

Ward smiled as he got into the driver’s side and started the car, both he and Skye remained silent as the car left the hospital far behind. It was Ward that finally broke the silence, “Do you know what you father told me?”

Skye turned her head to face the driver’s seat, “From your response I’m guessing he said your days are numbered.”

Ward nodded, “And I told him I would count the days.”

“So…?” Skye asked.

“Sir thinks I’m counting the days until I die,” Ward replied, “But I’m only counting every day I spend with you.”

Skye smiled, “Aww, the tin man has feelings.”

“Only when I’m with you, Skye. Only with you.”

“And Andrew?” Skye asked.

“And Andrew,” Ward agreed.


	60. Broken Dreams

Phil Coulson looked out over the city of New York, it was busy and in a tower full of people Coulson had never felt more alone. The team had made a home in Stark Tower, the Bus hidden away in one of Tony Stark’s private hangers. They were all together but had never been further apart.

FitzSimmons were working for Stark Industries biological and engineering divisions. They no longer slept in the same room, in fact the pair barely spoke to each other anymore. They blamed their relationship for Skye’s death and part of Coulson did too.

Trip had joined Steve Rogers on his ongoing search for Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier. Although Trip now called the tower home along with the rest of the team he was gone more than he was actually there. Coulson wondered if helping someone else find their friend helped the specialist forget the loss of his own.

Ever since joining the team May had slowly been returning to her old self, the woman she had been before Bahrain, she’d even started pranking again but with Skye’s death the cold, calculating Calvary had returned. She ignored FitzSimmons almost entirely, only speaking to the pair when absolutely necessary. May still talked to Coulson but now it was her that was on the receiving end of the silence in the conversations.

As he watched the busy city Coulson knew his team was broken and this time he wasn’t sure they could ever be fixed.

* * *

 

 Skye and Ward passed through the airport check in with ease despite the fact they carried a new born and a boat load of hastily forged documents. For now their final destination was unknown but getting far away from any traces of their old live was the first step.

Ward smiled as he watched Skye settle into her seat on the plane, the specialist had learned quickly that if Skye wanted help with Andrew she would ask for it. He had been right about one thing, since having the bandages removed from her arms the hacker only let go of her son when absolutely necessary.

Catching Ward’s gaze Skye laughed, “What are you smiling at?”

Ward shrugged, “The most beautiful woman on earth.”

Finally settled Skye sighed, “I’m not beautiful, Grant. Not anymore.” Skye looked away, no longer able to meet Ward’s gaze.

It was true that the hacker was scarred after the explosion at the farm, along both her arms and up her neck but that didn’t matter to Ward, it never had. As long as she was still Skye he didn’t care. He traced the scar that now lined Skye’s neck, “All the best people have scars, Skye. Ours are just a little more visible than most.”

Skye looked up and gave a weak smile, “Your comforting skills have gotten a little better, Robot.” She then reached up to trace a scar on Ward’s neck, one he received in London, so many months ago. A lifetime ago, “We match.”

“In more ways than one,” Ward agreed, using the hacker’s contact as an excuse to bring his lips down on hers. Sitting side by side in a plane wasn’t the easiest position to kiss in so it was only brief. Smiling Ward place be ad a light kiss on the top of Skye’s head, “Get some rest, it’s going to be a long flight.”

Skye gave him a light smile, “What did I do to deserve you?”

Ward shook his head, “The question is what I did to deserve you?”

It was Skye’s turn to shake her head, “You got a little lost, that’s all, and you fell off the path.” She smiled, “Now you have me to make sure you stay on the right track.”

Ward placed another light kiss on Skye’s head, “Where would I be without you?”

Skye grinned, “No doubt still in prison.”

Ward smiled weakly and gave a weak nod in response and in agreement, “Are you sure you want to do this, Skye? I can still get you back to the team if you want.”

Skye shook her head, “They’re safest far away from me and Andrew and I are safest far away from them.” She gave Ward a smile, “Don’t you ever doubt that this is the right thing, for me, for you and for Andrew, okay?”

“Okay,” Ward agreed, “Now get some rest.”

“Only if you do too,” Skye argued.

“Someone’s got to watch Andy,” Ward replied.

Skye smiled at the nickname and didn’t argue with it, “We’ll take turns.”

“Fine,” Ward agreed, “You rest on this flight and I’ll rest on the next one.”

Skye smiled, “This is one argument I’m not going to win, isn’t it?”

Ward just smiled as Skye passed Andrew, now Andy, over to his father. The specialist’s smile just grew when Skye used his shoulder as a pillow.

Long ago Ward would have complained about the contact, now he craved it. Skye’s touch meant she was safe and that he could protect her from all the evils that sought her out.

Long ago Grant Ward dreamed of a girl named Skye and in his dreams Grant Ward had been happy. Now the girl named Skye was by his side and it wasn’t just in his dreams that Grant Ward was happy but in his waking hours too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sequel 'Escape The Day' will be posted soon

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on ff.net


End file.
